TRANSPORT

Bus Services

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has to improve local bus services.

Rosie Winterton: Local and central Government are now providing £2.5 billion annually to support local bus services, double the level of support of 10 years ago. In addition, proposals in the Local Transport Bill will give local authorities increased flexibility and powers to work with bus operators to improve local bus services.

Crossrail

Andrew Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the implications of Crossrail for London's rail passengers.

Tom Harris: Crossrail will carry nearly 200 million passengers a year, increasing peak east-west capacity by 40 per cent. The project will relieve overcrowding and congestion on the existing National Rail and London Underground lines, helping to meet expected growth in demand for public transport and improving accessibility. Many east-west journey times will be significantly improved.

Railway Overcrowding

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has made of levels of overcrowding on the rail network.

Tom Harris: Existing and future demand for rail travel was assessed in preparing the rail White Paper. It was that assessment, and the associated need to tackle existing and potential overcrowding, that led to the capacity enhancements specified in the White Paper.

Heathrow Airport

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make a statement on the future of Heathrow Airport.

Jim Fitzpatrick: My right hon. Friend announced the launch of the Government's consultation "Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport" in her statement of 22 November. The consultation will run until 27 February. We expect to make final policy decisions later in 2008, taking account of all the available evidence, including the responses to the consultation.

Heathrow Airport

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations she has received on the future of Heathrow Airport; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We have received representations from a wide range of interests including environmental and business groups, local councillors and local residents' associations and expect to receive many more in response to the "Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport" consultation launched by my right hon. Friend on 22 November.

Road Safety

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has to improve road safety in urban areas.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Road Casualties Great Britain 2006 shows a 33 per cent. reduction in the number of people killed and seriously injured in built-up areas from the 1994-98 baseline average. The Government's road safety strategy contains a range of initiatives to further reduce the number of accidents in both urban and rural areas.

Railways: Passenger Satisfaction

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has made of levels of passenger satisfaction with the railways; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The latest national survey shows that in spring 2007 around four out of five rail passengers were satisfied with the service they received.

Freight Transport

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she plans to take to implement her policy of seeking a substantial shift of freight traffic from road to rail.

Tom Harris: The Government provide grant funding for modal shift from road to rail and water through the Sustainable Distribution Fund. In addition: the rail White Paper announced £200 million of Network Rail investment until 2014 to assist in the creation of a Strategic Freight Network; and the Department is providing over £150 million of funding for specific rail freight projects through the Transport Innovation Fund.

Street Works

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made on reducing disruption and congestion caused by street works.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has made regulations for Permit Schemes under the Traffic Management Act 2004 and revised those for Registers, Notices, Directions and Designations. These come into force on 1 April 2008. Associated codes of practice have also been issued. "A Good Practice Guide to Managing Works in the Street" was launched in May 2007.

Railways: Accessibility

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress her Department has made in improving the accessibility of the rail network for passengers with disabilities and those with reduced mobility.

Tom Harris: Under the Railways for All Programme we have so far announced 100 stations at which we expect Network Rail to provide a step-free route. We expect 25 of these to be substantially complete by 31 March 2008. Further stations will be included in the programme shortly.
	Access improvements at more than 500 other stations have also been approved up to March 2008 under the Access for All Small Schemes programme with the results of the latest round of bids to be announced early next year.

Concessionary Bus Travel

Eric Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers she estimates will use the concessionary bus fares scheme.

Rosie Winterton: From April next year around 11 million older and eligible disabled people resident in England will be entitled to at least free off-peak bus travel anywhere in England. In calculating the extra funding of £212 million we assumed an 85 per cent. uptake of passes, which we believe is a generous assumption.

Durham Tees Valley-Heathrow Route

Phil Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make the air travel route between Durham Tees Valley Airport and Heathrow a public service obligation route.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Secretary of State will consider on its merits any application to impose a public service obligation on the Durham Tees Valley to Heathrow route. The Government's guidance on the protection of regional air access to London published in December 2005 sets out how we will interpret the criteria for imposing PSOs set out in European Regulations. It is for regional bodies in the north-east to apply for and make the economic case for a PSO.

Thameslink and Crossrail

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the projected timetable is for work in London to deliver Government commitments on Thameslink 2000 and Crossrail.

Tom Harris: The Thameslink Programme has already started on site and is scheduled to deliver substantial benefits to rail passengers by the end of 2015. In addition, some services will benefit from longer trains from the end of 2011.
	Assuming Royal Assent to the Crossrail Bill in summer 2008, enabling works for Crossrail are scheduled to commence in 2009, with main construction works commencing in 2010. Operational trials will begin towards the end of 2016, in time for services to commence in 2017.

A14: Kettering

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the Highways Agency is seeking to restrict the access of local traffic to the A14 around Kettering.

Tom Harris: The Highways Agency is working with other parts of Government to secure the delivery of a substantial amount of housing in Northamptonshire in general and Kettering in particular. The A14 running just to the south of Kettering serves both long distance and local traffic and is currently operating under considerable stress.
	A major improvement scheme is under consideration, but this will take time to deliver. In the meantime, the Highways Agency is looking into measures that could allow the new housing to get under way while maintaining the functionality of the important A14 route. This includes the prospect of ramp metering which is a technique where the amount of traffic joining the A14 is managed through the use of signals, accompanied by sensors, to regulate the system and prevent the build-up of traffic on the adjacent local road network.
	The Highways Agency will continue to work closely with partners, in particular Northamptonshire county council, to develop proposals which balance the needs of the strategic and local highway network. However the overall strategy is not simply about concrete infrastructure. There are many measures, including those designed to secure modal shift that could be put in place to reduce to a minimum the amount of traffic generated by the new development. Northamptonshire county council's Transport Strategy for Growth provides a strong guide to what can be achieved.

Airports

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is Government policy that development of a second runway at Stansted Airport should precede the development of a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The 2003 "Future of Air Transport" White Paper supported two new runways in the South East by 2030, the first at Stansted. The Government's current consultation "Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport" is consistent with that policy. Stansted Airport Limited expects to be in a position to submit a planning application around the turn of the year.

M1: Motorway Service Areas

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason the services adjacent to junction 22 of the M1 motorway are not signposted on the motorway; and if she will arrange for signage to be erected.

Tom Harris: All signing on motorways is carefully controlled. The Highways Agency does not generally provide signs for a service development less than 15 miles from an established motorway service area (MSA). There is a long-established, purpose built MSA at Leicester Forest East seven miles to the south, where access is directly from the motorway.

Motorways

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to improve rainwater run-off on motorways; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The Highways Agency (HA) has recently published a number of new drainage standards aimed at reducing the risk of flooding of the strategic road network. This includes the provision of better control measures for road runoff in order to minimise the impact on receiving waters. The HA has also implemented a programme of work in partnership with the Environment Agency to meet the more stringent quality requirements of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC by 2015. Research is ongoing in these areas and further additional guidance is anticipated in the future.

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Data Protection

Philip Hammond: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what reviews have been undertaken of No. 10 Downing street's rules on data protection in the last two years; if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the last review of No. 10 Downing street's compliance with data protection laws; and if he will undertake a review of No. 10 Downing street's compliance with data protection laws;
	(2)  how many employees of each grade in his Office  (a) have access to confidential or sensitive data and  (b) are authorised to download such data to disk; how many of his Office's employees have undergone data protection training in the last 12 months; what the average length of time is that each employee of his Office has spent on data protection training; how many investigations of employees of his Office for improperly accessing confidential information have taken place in the last 12 months; how many such investigations resulted in cases of disciplinary action; and what the circumstances of each of those cases was;
	(3)  on how many occasions in his Office confidential data have been downloaded on to compact discs  (a) without and  (b) with encryption in the last 12 month period for which figures are available; how many of those discs have been posted without using recorded or registered delivery; what procedures his Office has in place for the (i) transport, (ii) exchange and (iii) delivery of confidential or sensitive data; what records are kept of information held by his Office being sent outside his Office; what changes have been made to his Office's rules and procedures on data protection in the last two years; on how many occasions his Office's procedures and rules on data protection have been breached in the last five years; what those breaches were; what procedures his Office has in place on downloading confidential data on to computer discs before its transfer; what technical protections there are in his Office's computer systems to prevent access to information held on those systems which is not in accordance with his Office's procedures; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each of his Office's rules and procedures on the protection of confidential data on individuals, businesses and other organisations.

Tom Brake: To ask the Prime Minister whether he proposes to review how his Office transports data; and whether his Office uses TNT to transport data.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Members to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Edward Miliband) on 3 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 847-48W.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Secondment

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many secondments of staff were made  (a) to and  (b) from his Department in each year since 1997; which organisations staff were seconded (i) to and (ii) from; how many staff were seconded in each year; for how long each secondment lasted; and what the cost was of each secondment in each year.

Shaun Woodward: The following tables detail the number of secondments of staff  (a) to and  (b) from the Northern Ireland Office in each year since 1997; which organisations staff were seconded (i) to and (ii) from. The cost of each secondment is not collated and the cost of gathering this information would be disproportionate.
	
		
			  NIO staff currently on secondment 
			  Date from  Seconded to  Number 
			 29 July 1996 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1 
			 8 June 2001 Cabinet Office 1 
			 5 November 2001 HM Treasury 1 
			 7 January 2003 PSNI 1 
			 10 November 2003 PSNI 1 
			 17 November 2003 ILEX URC Ltd. 1 
			 10 January 2005 PSNI 1 
			 1 April 2005 Prisoner Ombudsman's Office 4 
			 4 April 2005 Prisoner Ombudsman's Office 1 
			 18 April 2005 Home Office 1 
			 25 April 2005 Prisoner Ombudsman's Office 1 
			 1 October 2005 Foreign Affairs 1 
			 17 October 2005 Courts Service 1 
			 18 May 2006 Prisoner Ombudsman's Office 1 
			 8 January 2006 PSNI 1 
			 3 July 2006 Prisoner Ombudsman's Office 1 
			 1 September 2006 OFMDFM 6 
			 8 January 2007 Conservation Volunteers 1 
			 15 January 2007 Conservation Volunteers 1 
			 5 February 2007 Home Office 1 
			 2 April 2007 UK Civil Service 1 
			 10 April 2007 Department of Communities and Local Government 1 
			 4 June 2007 UK Civil Service 1 
			 2 July 2007 Prisoner Ombudsman's Office 1 
			 9 July 2007 Prisoner Ombudsman's Office 1 
			 30 July 2007 UK Civil Service 1 
			 10 September 2007 Prisoner Ombudsman's Office 1 
			 5 November 2007 Prisoner Ombudsman's Office 1 
			 16 November 2007 UK Civil Service 1 
			 Total  37 
		
	
	
		
			  Staff currently seconded to NIO 
			  Date from  Seconded from  Number 
			 22 January 1997 HM Customs and Excise 1 
			 5 November 2001 Foreign Commonwealth 1 
			 23 June 2003 Enterprise Trade and Investment 1 
			 16 August 2004 Home Office 1 
			 23 November 2004 Education 1 
			 6 April 2005 Department of Constitutional Affairs 1 
			 18 September 2006 Department of Constitutional Affairs 1 
			 1 February 2007 Health and Social Services 1 
			 2 July 2007 Home Office 1 
			 2 July 2007 Finance and Personnel 1 
			 9 September 2007 Probation Board 1 
			 Total  11 
		
	
	
		
			  Staff seconded from NIO since 1997 
			  Seconded to  Length of secondment  Number 
			  1997   
			 Prince of Wales Voluntary Scheme 3 months 1 
			 Cabinet Office 1 year 2 months 1 
			 Prince of Wales Voluntary Scheme 7 months 1 
			 Total  3 
			
			  1998   
			 Cabinet Office 3 years 1 
			 Ministry of Defence 4 years 1 
			 Central Computer and Telecom Agency 1 year 1 
			 Prince of Wales Voluntary Scheme 1 year 1 
			 Department of Constitutional Affairs 2 years 2 months 1 
			 NI Assembly 1 year 6 months 1 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 7 years 7 months 1 
			 Total  7 
			
			  1999   
			 Northern Ireland Assembly 3 years 1 
			 Customs and Excise 8 months 1 
			 Department of Culture Media and Sport 1 month 1 
			 Northern Ireland Assembly 1 year 8 months 1 
			 Department of Social Community and Family Affairs Dublin 6 months 1 
			 NI Courts Service 1 year 1 month 1 
			 Royal Commission House of Lords 6 months 1 
			 Police Complaints Authority 9 days 1 
			 Prince of Wales Voluntary Scheme 3 months 1 
			 Princes Trust 1 year 1 
			 Total  10 
			
			  2000   
			 Acute Hospitals Review 10 months 1 
			 HM Treasury 2 years 10 months 1 
			 Attorney Generals Office 4 years 3 months 1 
			 Total  3 
			
			  2001   
			 Police Complaints Authority 3 months 1 
			 Department of Culture Arts and Leisure 3 years 1 
			 Prince of Wales Trust 2 months 1 
			 Prince of Wales Trust 10 months 1 
			 Total  4 
			
			  2002   
			 Department of Culture Media and Sport 3 years 1 
			 PSNI 3 years 1 
			 Bromley Bow Community Centre 2 years 10 months 1 
			 HM Treasury 10 months 1 
			  10 months 1 
			 Total  4 
			
			  2003   
			 PSNI 6 months 1 
			 PSNI 2 years 3 months 1 
			 Total  2 
			
			  2004   
			 Prisoner Ombudsman's Office 1 year 9 months 1 
			 Government Decontamination and Recovery Unit 1 year 9 months 1 
			 Total  2 
			
			  2005   
			 Royal National Institute for the Deaf 1 year 1 month 1 
			 Ministry of Defence 1 year 9 months 1 
			 NI Memorial Fund 1 year 8 months 1 
			 Inquiry into Hyponatraemia-related Deaths 8 months 1 
			 Total  4 
		
	
	
		
			  Staff seconded to NIO since 1997 
			  Seconded from  Length of secondment  Number 
			  1998   
			 Home Office 4 years 3 months 1 
			 Total  1 
			
			  2002   
			 Department of Trade and Industry 3 years 3 months 1 
			 Total  1 
			
			  2004   
			 Foreign Office 1 year 4 months 1 
			 Total  1

Police Service of Northern Ireland: Belfast

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of the police establishment in North Belfast consisted of  (a) full-time reserve officers and  (b) part-time reserve officers at 31 October.

Paul Goggins: The police establishment figures for North Belfast on 31 October 2007 are provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Number  Pr oportion (p ercentage) 
			 Regular 300 73.71 
			 Full-time reserve 36 8.85 
			 Part-time reserve 71 17.44 
			 Total 407 100

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Alcoholic Drinks: Licensing

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) on licences and  (b) off licences to sell alcohol under the Licensing Act 2003 were subject to (i) review and (ii) revocation as a result of (A) selling alcohol to persons under the age of 18 and (B) disorderly conduct, broken down by (1) police force area and (2) local authority area in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This information is not held centrally.
	Past and future statistical bulletins on licences to sell alcohol include the number of licences revoked, but do not indicate why. Licences may be revoked on review for one or more reasons relating to the four licensing objectives or breaches of licensing law including sales to children, disorderly conduct and breach of licensing conditions.
	Although the DCMS Statistical Bulletin on Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment, which was published on 8 November, does not show numbers reviewed as a result of sales to under-18s it did show that 44 reviews were completed in the 12 months to March 2007 following closure under section 161 (closure orders for identified premises) which covers noise disturbance and disorder. The bulletin also showed that between April 2006 and March 2007, there were 693 reviews, which resulted in:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Licences revoked 92 
			 Licences suspended for up to three months(1) 91 
			 Premises made to change their opening hours(1) 110 
			 Premises had other conditions placed on their licences(1) 400 
			 (1) Not possible under old laws.

Departmental Contracts

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what contracts his Department has with external consultants; what the total value, including all VAT and disbursements, of these contracts are for the current financial year; how long each contract lasts; and what the forecast total value is of each contract.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department currently has the following ongoing contracts with external consultants for the current financial year 2007-08:
	
		
			  Contract  Total value paid this year (£)  Length  Forecast value (£) 
			 Engaging Places Evaluation 0 2 months 24,828 
			 Impact of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games 0 4 months 96,350 
			 ICT Strategy Compliance/Review (1)49,751 1 year 120,000 
			 Specialist Advice to Government Olympic Executive on 2012 (1)30,364 1 year 75,000 
			 Speech-writing (1)5,875 Ad hoc (2)— 
			 Ceremonial Consultancy 34,991.15 5 years 275,000 
			 (1) Including VAT and disbursements.  (2) Unknown.

Departmental Labour Turnover

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the percentage turnover of staff was in  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's agencies in (i) the last 12-month period and (ii) the last 24-month period for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is in the table.
	
		
			  Turnover 
			  Percentage 
			   2005-06  2006-07 
			 Department for Culture Media and Sport 21.3 14.8 
			 Royal Parks 23 20 
			  Notes:  1. All leavers have been used to calculate turnover. This includes staff on loan returning to their parent departments.  2. DCMS encourages staff interchange with other departments. At any one time 23 per cent. to 25 per cent. of staff are on loan.  3. The Royal Parks Constabulary (RPC) have been excluded from the figures relating to the Royal Parks Agency as these staff were transferred to the Metropolitan Police Service on 31 March 2006.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel he plans to be stationed in Northern Ireland as of the end of 2008, broken down by location.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 3 December 2007
	On current plans, there will be some 4,900 armed forces personnel stationed in Northern Ireland at 31 December 2008, with the principal regular units situated at the following locations:
	
		
			  Location  Unit 
			 Lisburn HQNI and 38 (Irish) Bde 
			  HQ 19 Lt Bde and Sig Sqn 
			  NI Sp Bn 
			  40 Regt RA 
			  233 Sig Sqn 
			   
			 Aldergrove 5 Regt AAC 
			  230 Sqn RAF 
			   
			 Holywood 2 MERCIAN 
			 Kinnegar 19 CSS Bn 
			   
			 Ballykinler 2 Rifles 
			   
			 Antrim 38 Engr Regt 
			   
			 Duke of Connaught Unit Belfast Military Hospital 
		
	
	As I said in my written ministerial statement of 25 July 2007, the military footprint in Northern Ireland is now broadly comparable to that in the rest of the UK with the majority of forces training and preparing for operations worldwide. Although this is the planned number of armed forces personnel with a home base in Northern Ireland, the actual number of personnel present will be less as some of the units will be deployed on rest of the world operations.

Colombia: Armed Forces

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which units of the Colombian security forces UK military assistance is not provided to; and for what reasons.

Bob Ainsworth: The UK's Defence engagement is aimed at personnel from across Colombia's large armed forces, and not individual units. Current military assistance to Colombia is primarily concerned with education; there are strong emphases on training regarding human rights and the disposal of explosive devices in order to reduce the numbers of deaths, both civilian and military, from them. However, there are some aspects of military assistance which we do not give specific details as to do so could endanger not only the effectiveness of the support but also the lives of the British and Colombian personnel involved. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has upheld this decision.

Hydrographic Office

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from which Government Departments officials have met with the team carrying out the review of the UK Hydrographic Office; and how many such meetings have taken place.

Derek Twigg: The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is a trading fund within the Ministry of Defence. Departments routinely carry out reviews of trading funds from time to time as part of the ownership role. In February 2007, I announced that we would carry out a review of the structural and ownership options for the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO). This is due to report at the end of the year.
	During the course of the study, the study team met with officials from the following UK Government Departments:
	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs;
	Department for Transport (including the Maritime and Coastguard Agency);
	Her Majesty's Treasury;
	Office of Fair Trading; and
	Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	These Departments were engaged at numerous points throughout the study but we do not hold records of the precise number of meetings held.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Energy Efficiency

Andrew Turner: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the policy is on the temperature at which each working area of each building on the parliamentary estate for which the House of Commons Commission is responsible is maintained.

Nick Harvey: General practice is to maintain a temperature of around 21 degrees Celsius in all office areas. The temperature in non-office areas may vary depending on the activity in that room. The statutory minimum temperature as given under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 is 16 degrees Celsius after the first hour of working; unless the work involves strenuous physical exertion. Where possible, individuals' comfort preferences are taken into consideration. This however is subject to the limitations of the control available by each building's management control system and the need to provide thermal balance between areas.

Portcullis House: Fire Alarms

Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission on how many occasions the fire alarm in Portcullis House has been set off since May 2005; and how many times there was a fire.

Nick Harvey: During the period May 2005 to end November 2007 there were 28 fire alarm incidents in Portcullis House. Of these:
	three were actual fires;
	five were accidental actuations, e.g. damage to call points;
	11 resulted from system faults;
	four were caused by engineers while working on the system;
	five were caused by contractors or as a result of maintenance work.

WALES

Departmental Consultations

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2007,  Official Report, column 312W, on departmental consultations, when he plans to place copies of the 18 responses in the Library.

Peter Hain: We are currently checking with participants to ensure they are content for their responses to be published. I hope for this to be completed as soon as possible, at which stage I will place a copy in the Library.

Departmental Labour Turnover

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the percentage turnover of staff was in his Department in  (a) the last 12-month period and  (b) the last 24-month period for which figures are available.

Peter Hain: The turnover of Wales Office staff in the 2006-07 financial year was 32 per cent. Figures for earlier years are not available and could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
	The number reflects the fact that the Wales Office is a small organisation. Around half of the staff at any time are on loan, and they will often move after two years. It also includes internal movements of staff, not just numbers 'in' and 'out'.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

10 Downing Street: Publicity

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much has been spent by No. 10 Downing Street on advertising in the last 12 months.

Edward Miliband: For these purposes the Prime Minister's Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. The answer given therefore is for the whole of the Cabinet Office. The Department's expenditure on campaign advertising for 2006-07 was £22,148.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Departmental Data Protection

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what reviews have been undertaken of his Department's rules on data protection in the last two years; if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the last review of his Department's compliance with data protection laws; and if  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's agencies will undertake a review of their compliance with data protection laws.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what procedures are in place in his Department to ensure that personal information relating to members of the public is  (a) stored and  (b) transported securely.

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  on how many occasions the Information Commissioner was contacted by his Department to report breaches of data protection security in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many breaches of data protection security there were in  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's agencies in each of the last five years; and if he will provide details of each breach.

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many times databases held by his Department containing personal information on members of the general public were accessed in each month of the last five years;
	(2)  how many staff in his Department have access to electronic databases which contain personal information on members of the general public, broken down by grade of staff member;
	(3)  how many electronic databases containing  (a) names,  (b) addresses,  (c) bank details and  (d) other personal information of members of the general public his Department holds;
	(4)  how many requests his Department received from the National Audit Office for access to databases containing personal information on members of the general public in each year since 1997;
	(5)  how many security breaches regarding access to personal data occurred in his Department in each year since 1997;
	(6)  what mechanisms his Department has in place to ensure that databases held by his Department containing personal information on members of the general public are not accessed  (a) by unauthorised staff and  (b) by authorised staff for unauthorised purposes;
	(7)  when each electronic database containing personal information on members of the general public held by his Department was first created.

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 requiring investigation there have been in the last five years in his Department; what the nature of such breaches were; and what the results of the investigations were in each case.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether he proposes to review how his Department transports data; and whether his Department uses TNT to transport data.

David Lammy: I refer the hon. Members to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.

General Certificate of Secondary Education: Young Offenders

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of 16-year-olds who had been in custody for more than one year was entered for GCSE examinations in each year since 2001; and what proportion of 16-year-olds in custody gained five A* to Cs at GCSE in each of those years.

Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 19 November 2007,  Official Report , column 632W.

Sector Skills Council: Licensing

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2007,  Official Report, column 573W, on sector skills council: licensing, whether the Commission for Employment and Skills will be taking over from the Sector Skills Development Agency all its licensing functions; and whether the relicensing programme for sector skills councils will be a rolling process.

David Lammy: The Commission for Employment and Skills will be responsible for providing advice to the relevant Secretaries of State across the UK about which Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) should receive a new license. The new licences will be issued by the Government.
	The re-licensing of SSCs will be an early priority for the Commission. The intention is that the re-licensing of SSCs will be completed by the end of 2009. No decisions have been made about the review of licenses beyond 2009.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

ACP Countries: Economic Agreements

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what meetings have occurred between his Department and officials from the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries about economic partnership agreements; and what the outcomes were. [R]

Gareth Thomas: Between the Department for International Development, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office there has been close and constant contact with representatives from all the ACP negotiating regions at both ministerial and official level.
	The outcome of this close contact is that we are in a position to know what the ACP countries want from these negotiations and represent their views to the European Commission and other member states. We are also able to provide them with support.

ACP Countries: Economic Agreements

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how economic partnership agreements will be ratified if signed; and what the role of Parliament will be in the ratification process. [R]

Gareth Thomas: Each completed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) will need to be agreed by the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers. If the EPA is a goods only agreement and no more, it will fall within exclusive Community competence and would not require any national ratification, however if the EPA contains any elements other than trade in goods, it will have to be agreed at national level by each member state. In the UK, we must consult Parliament and each EPA must be debated and approved in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. We will do this by means of a statutory instrument.
	We will however submit all EPA texts to Parliament for scrutiny, regardless of the formal ratification procedure.

ACP Countries: Economic Agreements

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure that any African, Caribbean or Pacific country unable to sign an economic partnership agreement by the end of 2007 does not experience more restricted market access into the EU from 1 January 2008.

Gareth Thomas: I am concerned about what happens to countries that are unable to sign an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) by the end of year deadline. In September I wrote to other European Union Trade Ministers to press the European Commission to ensure that African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are no worse off after the end of 2007 once the Cotonou agreement lapses.
	On 20 November at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development, along with other European Union member states, asked the Commission to come forward with suggestions of what will be offered to countries that are engaged with the process but not ready to sign an EPA by the end of the year. It was agreed that recommendations from the Commission will be discussed at the December GAERC to ensure that these countries do not end up facing Generalised System of Preferences tariffs.

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the UK spent on provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan in each of the last five years; and what projects such funding has supported.

David Miliband: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government spent £1.4 million through the Mazar-e Sharif Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) on police training and mentoring. Since opening in May 2006, the Helmand PRT has implemented 199 Quick Impact Projects valued at £11.6 million. This has supported a number of building projects (including schools, parks and police stations), police training and women's rights projects. A further £4.5 million has been spent on longer-term projects in support of governance in the province.
	I will write to the right hon. Member with a list of projects and will arrange for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.

Bangladesh: Overseas Aid

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of funding for the  (a) first and  (b) second phase of the humanitarian response to the cyclone in Bangladesh was paid directly to non-governmental organisations.

Shahid Malik: The UK Government have provided £7 million for Cyclone Sidr relief in Bangladesh. At least 90 per cent. of this will be channelled to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for immediate and short to medium-term needs, with the remainder for disaster management coordination and operations.
	The first tranche of £2.5 million was allocated through United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide immediate assistance in the form of food, clean and safe water, medical treatment, and housing repairs.
	An additional £2.5 million was announced by the Secretary of State on 23 November. This will be programmed through three international NGOs: Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, and CARE, to focus on short to medium-term needs such as water, sanitation and hygiene promotion. A further £2 million announced by the Secretary of State on 28 November, will also be allocated to support the short to medium-term response by improving access, provision of non-food items such as blankets, disaster management coordination, and the restoration of livelihoods. A significant proportion of this money will be programmed through NGOs, such as Oxfam GB for the provision of non-food items and BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) for livelihoods.

Burma: Human Rights

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation of the Karen people in Burma.

Shahid Malik: Like many others in Burma, Karen people are suffering from the repressive rule of the Burmese military government—including restrictions on movement, arbitrary taxation and forced labour. Severe economic mismanagement has deprived Burma of the economic growth enjoyed by its South East Asian neighbours, and investment in public services has been minimal. A third of the population lives below the poverty line. Those in conflict areas, of which Karen State is one, face further human rights abuses by the Burmese military, and on occasion by the ethnic armed groups. As a consequence of the conflict, there are 500,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Eastern Burma, the majority of whom are Karen—and their humanitarian plight is particularly severe. DFID provides assistance to IDPs using community-based groups from inside Eastern Burma, and cross-border to the most vulnerable. DFID also provides support to Burmese refugees, mostly Karen, in Thailand.

China: Bears

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department has provided to  (a) Animals Aid Foundation and  (b) China Wildlife Conservation Association in relation to bear bile farming in China.

Shahid Malik: We have not provided any support to either organisation.

Colombia: Overseas Aid

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of UK assistance to Colombia is provided for projects which are not related to the Colombian security forces in 2007-08.

Shahid Malik: The parliamentary ombudsman has upheld the UK Government's decision not to make public precise details of our counter narcotics assistance, as to do so would jeopardise the effectiveness of that dangerous work and the safety of the British and Colombian personnel involved. As such, it is not possible to say what proportion of UK assistance to Colombia for projects was not related to the security forces.
	DFID channels most of its development assistance to Colombia through the World Bank, the EU, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the UN. DFID trust funds with IADB specifically support six current projects in Colombia: citizen monitoring in urban governments, presidential town meetings, strengthening the auditor general, supporting community councils, job promotion in cities, and supporting indigenous small miners. In addition DFID funds a number of UK NGOs, and work on the Poverty reduction strategy.
	Direct UK project assistance in Colombia is mainly funded by the FCO's Global Opportunities Fund and the Global Conflict Prevention Pool. It reflects the UK's key priorities of tackling the illegal drugs trade and improving the human rights situation. The FCO has recently placed on its website a schedule of UK human rights-related project activity:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk.

Departmental Data Protection

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department's information technology and data management systems are BS7799 compliant.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.

Departmental Labour Turnover

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the percentage turnover of staff was in his Department in  (a) the last 12-month period and  (b) the last 24-month period for which figures are available.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development employs both home civil servants and locally engaged staff, who work in our network of overseas offices on local terms and conditions of service. Comprehensive data on the turnover of staff in this latter group is not held centrally.
	The turnover of home civil servants in the 2006-07 financial year was 9.5 per cent.; and over the two-year period covering the 2005-06 and 2006-07 financial years was 20 per cent. Turnover has been calculated as the number of leavers in the period, expressed as a percentage of the total number of staff in post at the beginning of that period.

Health

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions his Department has had with the Department of Health on the Government's strategy on global health.

Shahid Malik: Officials at DFID are in regular contact with the Department of Health as work to develop the Global Health Strategy proceeds.
	My colleague Baroness Vadera sits on the Inter-Ministerial Group on Strengthening Health in Developing Countries which oversees this important agenda and will complement and reinforce DFID's existing health strategy—including the recent initiative that launched the International Health Partnership (IHP).
	In addition to discussions about the IHP, we are considering the role that access to medicines might play in the light of the issues raised at the recent meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property in Geneva.

Latin America: Overseas Aid

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he expects to  (a) finalise and  (b) publish his Department's regional assistance plan for Latin America for 2008-2011.

Shahid Malik: Spending on Latin America, as on all DFID's programmes, will be decided by January as part of the Resource Allocation Round. DFID's Latin America strategy will be finalised after those decisions.

Latin America: Overseas Aid

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial assistance his Department will allocate to each Latin American country in 2008-09.

Shahid Malik: DFID is currently developing detailed plans for allocating its budget over the three year period 2008-09 to 2010-11 following the outcome of the comprehensive spending review announced in October. Individual country programme allocations will not be finalised until early in 2008.

Somalia: Politics and Government

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent reports he has received about the humanitarian situation in Somalia; what the response of his Department has been; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: UN agencies and international NGOs active in Somalia report that up to 500,000 people, almost exclusively civilians, have been displaced as a result of the conflict in the south—197,000 since the beginning of October. They are mostly accommodated in temporary encampments close to the capital Mogadishu, and face shortages of shelter, food, water and, especially but not exclusively for those injured in the fighting, healthcare. A further 50,000 have been displaced by the border conflict between Somaliland and Puntland in the north. Total displacement of the Somali population, including those affected by earlier conflict and natural disasters, is estimated by the UN to be 1 million. Agencies delivering relief supplies face regular harassment, extortion and bureaucratic obstruction, and the International Community, including the UK, has made strong representations to the Somali authorities to enable relief work to flow freely.
	So far in 2007 DFID has committed £8.6 million to help those worst affected by the fighting and the ongoing humanitarian needs, including £1 million since mid-October. We keep in close contact with UN agencies and our partners on the ground to ensure that DFID's humanitarian response fits the immediate needs of the most vulnerable. Our humanitarian adviser visited part of the affected area last week, to assess the situation. He will make another visit to the worst affected area during the next week, after which we will consider what further urgent support we might provide.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Disease Control

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers were prosecuted for breaches of biosecurity in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: Local authorities are responsible for the enforcement of animal health legislation, including any resulting prosecutions, and report annually to DEFRA. A consolidated report is laid before Parliament each year.
	Prosecutions relating to biosecurity may arise from breaches under a range of legislation including; the Animal Gatherings (England) Order 2006, the Disease Control (England) Order 2003, the Transport of Animals (Cleansing and Disinfection) (England) (No. 3) Order 2003, emergency animal health measures such as those to control outbreaks of foot and mouth disease and avian influenza, and the equivalent Welsh legislation.
	The number of prosecutions resulting from biosecurity breaches reported in 2005 and 2006 are as follows:
	
		
			   Prosecutions arising from breaches of biosecurity 
			 2006 16 
			 2005 9 
		
	
	The reports provided by local authorities prior to 2005 do not identify which prosecutions relate to biosecurity offences specifically. The following table lists the number of prosecutions brought each year under the aforementioned legislation:
	
		
			   Number of prosecutions under relevant Orders  Prosecutions arising from 1981 Animal Health Act but not defined further 
			 2004 36 70 
			 2003 75 0 
			 2002 82 77 
		
	
	The figures given in the aforementioned tables are for all prosecutions; they cannot be broken down to farmers alone.

Agriculture: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many claimants there are under the single payment scheme in Ribble Valley constituency; and how many farms this represents.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 3 December 2007
	Detailed analysis of the number of claimants there are under the Single Payment Scheme in Ribble Valley constituency and the number of farms this represents is not available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure full payment of the single farm payment to farmers in England in December 2007.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has a formal target to pay 75 per cent. by value of valid 2007 single payment scheme (SPS) claims by 31 March 2008 and 90 per cent. by 31 May 2008.
	The Government's primary concern remains that the SPS system should be robust and stable, so that RPA can deliver an improved, reliable service to the farming industry. A range of measures are being undertaken to that end and we are determined that the timing of 2007 SPS payments neither undermines those efforts nor introduces unacceptable disallowance risks. However, Ministers have agreed that RPA will aim to make more full payments to more farmers earlier than last year.

Animal Welfare: Codes of Practice

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2007,  Official Report, column 28W, on animal welfare: codes of practice, what the membership is of the working group on gamebirds; and what the areas of expertise of each member are.

Jonathan R Shaw: Members of the working group include representatives of the game bird industry, welfare groups and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. They were chosen because of their expertise in the various husbandry and management techniques involved in the breeding and rearing of game birds, so ensuring that all welfare-related issues were fully debated.

Animal Welfare: EU Action

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Agriculture and Fisheries Council held in Luxembourg on 22 to 23 October 2007, when he expects a legislative framework to implement the animal health strategy to be implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Commission is currently consulting the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament on its Communication on "A new Animal Health strategy for the European Union". During 2008, the Commission is expected to produce an action plan setting out specific proposals to implement the strategy in the period up to 2013.

Arable Farming: East of England

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the financial state of arable crop farming in the Eastern region.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following table shows Farm Business Income(1) for arable farms between 2003-04 and 2006-07 in the eastern region. Income forecasts for 2007-08, to be published at the end of January 2008, will reflect the value of the 2007 harvest.
	(1) For non corporate businesses, Farm Business Income represents the financial return to all unpaid labour (farmers and spouses, non-principal partners and their spouses and family workers) and on all their capital invested in the farm business, including land and buildings. For corporate businesses it represents the financial return on the shareholders' capital invested in the farm business.
	
		
			  Farm business income for cereal and general cropping( 1)  farms in the eastern region 
			  £ 
			  March/February  Cereals  General cropping  All farm types 
			 2003-04 80,900 90,100 67,100 
			 2004-05 47,800 72,900 51,400 
			 2005-06 48,900 48,600 51,200 
			 2006-07 78,000 74,400 66,100 
			 (1) Farms greater than 0.5 Standard Labour Requirement  Source:  Farm Business Survey.

Avian Influenza: Suffolk

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on accommodation for his Department's officials at Ickworth Hotel, per room, during the recent visit in connection with the avian influenza outbreak in Suffolk; for how long officials stayed in the hotel; and how many officials stayed there.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 29 November 2007
	 Animal health staff stayed at the Ickworth Hotel at the agreed Government rate of between £95 and £110 per room. Thirty officials stayed at the hotel for a total of 90 nights' accommodation between 13 and 23 November. Altogether, 1,653 nights' accommodation were booked in the area from 13 November at more than 20 hotels.
	In an emergency, a large number of staff from around the UK need to be found hotel rooms near to the local disease control centre at very short notice which can be less than a day. DEFRA employs the services of an external provider to ensure that the most appropriate accommodation is secured and provides the best value for money for the taxpayer as these costs are met under current arrangements passed on to the industry.

Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture: Finance

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what level of funding he plans to provide to the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department has committed the following minimum levels of funding to CEFAS over the next five years:
	
		
			   Minimum funding (£ million) 
			 2008-09 30.9 
			 2009-10 30.9 
			 2010-11 29.8 
			 2011-12 28.8 
			 2012-13 28.8 
		
	
	An additional £1.1 million has also been committed to support CEFAS's ongoing transformation.

Construction: Carbon Emissions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government has taken to encourage the building and construction industry to cut carbon emissions in its activities.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 27 November 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	We are currently developing, with the building and construction industry, a joint industry/government strategy for sustainable construction. A draft strategy was published in July and is currently available online at:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/consultations/page40642.html
	Public consultation on this strategy closed on 30 November and the government response will be published by the end of February 2008.

Departmental Assets

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what Departmental assets are planned to be sold in each financial year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; what the  (a) description and  (b) book value of each such asset is; and what the expected revenue from each such sale is.

Jonathan R Shaw: For reasons of commercial sensitivity it is not possible to itemise the net book value and expected sale revenue of each asset currently planned for disposal. However the Department is taking professional advice to ensure value for money and to maximise the return on these disposals.
	The Department currently anticipates total receipts from the sale of assets of approximately £9 million in 2007-08; £36 million in 2008-09; £10 million in 2009-10 and £5 million in 2010-11. The disposals planned for the latter three years will form part of the Department's Asset Management Strategy to be published in December this year.
	Estimates of sale proceeds are subject to fluctuations in the property market and cannot be guaranteed, nor can it be stated with certainty exactly when these sales will take place.
	It should also be noted that the figures apply to the wider DEFRA network, not just to the core Department. The assets in question are surplus or under-utilised land and property. The largest anticipated sale is that of DEFRA-owned land and buildings at Guildford, and we expect this to account for approximately one third of the income from asset disposals over the period 2007-08 to 2010-11.

Departmental Consultants

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent by his Department on management consultants working on projects in the West Country since 2002.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 27 November 2007
	 This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I refer the hon. Member to Tables 7, 8, and 9 (pp190-195) of the Department's departmental report 2007 (Cm 7103), presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in May 2007.

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what efficiency savings projects his Department put in place under the spending review 2004 targets; on what date each was initiated; how much each was expected to contribute to the target; how much was saved by each; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The projects that comprised DEFRA's efficiency portfolio are set out in our efficiency technical note. Each project has a baseline year against which savings are measured. This was published on the H M Treasury website in December 2005
	at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/busplan/spending-review/pdf/efficiencynote-0511.pdf.
	Progress against our SR04 targets is reported in our departmental report . The most recent (published in June 2007) is at
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/deprep/2007/2007-deptrepport.pdf.
	An update on progress will be included in the DEFRA autumn performance report due to be published on 13 December.

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress his Department is making towards meeting the Gershon efficiency savings targets.

Jonathan R Shaw: Progress against our SR04 targets is reported in our departmental report. The most recent (published in June 2007) is at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/deprep/2007/2007-deptreport.pdf.
	An update on progress will be included in the DEFRA autumn performance report due to be published on 13 December.

Departmental Expenditure

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the considerable budgetary problems as a result of unfunded pressures in the 2006-07 financial year referred to in the Government's response to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee's Seventh Report of Session 2006-07, page 2, were; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: As with other large organisations, DEFRA faces new financial pressures each year which require constant review and re-adjustment to spending plans. The last financial year (2006-07) brought several such pressures that meant the Department had to reduce its original resource budgets by around £200 million. These pressures stemmed from:
	RPA's running costs (about 11 per cent.), including administration of the single payment scheme for both 2005 and 2006;
	Avian influenza (about 5 per cent.);
	surplus capital charge budget no longer being available to fund programme expenditure due to new tighter rules governing public expenditure (around 30 per cent.);
	costs deferred from 2005-06, not as a result of underspending, but arising from pressure on the budget that year (around 45 per cent.);
	other miscellaneous pressures (about 9 per cent.).

Departmental ICT

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which manufacturers' software is used in his Department.

Jonathan R Shaw: A list that provides the names of all manufacturers of software used by DEFRA, as collected and recorded by IBM (the Department's strategic IT supplier since its IT services were outsourced in October 2004), has been placed in the Library of the House of Commons.

Departmental Labour Turnover

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the percentage turnover of staff was in  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's agencies in (i) the last 12-month period and (ii) the last 24-month period for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: The turnover rates for DEFRA and each of the agencies for all leavers and for voluntary resignations (including transfers to other Government Departments) only is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   1 November 2006 to 31 October 2007  1 November 2005 to 31 October 2007 
			   All leavers  Resignations  All leavers  Resignations 
			 DEFRA 19.8 4.7 14.5 4.3 
			 Animal Health 11.1 4.3 11.2 4.0 
			 Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science(1) 8.9 n/a 8.6 n/a 
			 Central Science Laboratories 17.2 7.1 17.6 7.8 
			 Government Decontamination Service 4.8 4.8 11.9 9.5 
			 Marine Fisheries Agency 14.4 4.4 11.7 4.6 
			 Pesticides Safety Directorate 4.6 2.6 6.3 3.6 
			 Rural Payments Agency 18.8 11.0 20.5 10.9 
			 Veterinary Laboratories Agency 10.6 5.8 10.9 6.3 
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate 4.2 3.5 3.8 2.3 
			 (1) CEFAS turnover rates cover the periods 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 and 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2007.

Departmental Standards

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to publish his Department's autumn performance report.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA's 2007 autumn performance report will be published electronically on 13 December 2007 and made available at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/deprep/default.htm.
	Copies will also be available in the House Library on that day.

Departmental Telephone Services

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which telephone contact centres are the responsibility of his Department; what mechanisms are in place to monitor their effectiveness; and how many people have been employed in each of those centres in each year since they were established.

Jonathan R Shaw: My Department is directly responsible for the main DEFRA helpline only, which is available for general telephone and e-mail enquiries. Some of DEFRA's Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies also have operational responsibility for more specific customer contact services.
	The present arrangements for running the DEFRA helpline, mean that the number of telephone advisers varies to reflect the level of customer demand. Before these arrangements were implemented, earlier this year, the DEFRA helpline routinely employed eight advisers.
	The DEFRA helpline generates both daily and weekly statistics, which enable my officials to monitor its performance. Regular meetings are held to review day-to-day operational issues. My officials also have access to live call-traffic information.

Departmental Telephone Services

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information his Department collects and monitors in relation to the telephone contact centres for which his Department is responsible.

Jonathan R Shaw: My Department routinely collects and monitors the following management information from the DEFRA helpline:
	(i) data on call volumes, including the number of calls received, answered and abandoned;
	(ii) information on call "types", organised by subject; and
	(iii) information on the duration of calls.
	Other information may be gathered for specific purposes. For example, if people use the helpline to report dead wild gulls, waders, ducks, geese or swans, or groups of dead birds in connection with avian influenza, their telephone contact details and the location of the dead bird(s) will also be collected.

Departmental Telephone Services

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much each telephone contact centre for which his Department is responsible has  (a) cost and  (b) generated in income in each financial year since their establishment.

Jonathan R Shaw: The annual running costs of the DEFRA helpline since 2003-04 are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Financial year  Total cost of running the DEFRA helpline (£) 
			 2003-04 247,123 
			 2004-05 247,862 
			 2005-06 230,344 
			 2006-07 295,638 
		
	
	Prior to 2003-04, the costs of the DEFRA helpline were embedded within the overall costs of the Department's Library and Translation Services. Disaggregated costs are not available for that period.
	My Department receives no income from the DEFRA helpline. Call charges are shared between the service providers of the helpline and the caller.

Fisheries: Subsidies

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will set out the Government's proposals for the application of the European Fisheries Fund in the United Kingdom for the period 2007 to 2013; and when he intends to submit such proposals to the European Commission.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Government's proposals for the application of the European Fisheries Fund in the United Kingdom for the period 2007 to 2013 will be set out in the draft UK operational programme as required by Article 17 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1198/2006.
	I intend to submit the UK operational programme to the Commission following a public consultation on the draft. This will be a 12 week consultation which I expect to commence early in 2008.

Fisheries: Subsidies

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government support Eyemouth and the Berwickshire coast being designated as a fisheries dependent area eligible for assistance from the European Fisheries Fund.

Jonathan R Shaw: This is a matter for the Scottish Executive.

Institute for Animal Health: Pirbright

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who signed the most recent licence authorising the holding or working with restricted pathogens in respect of  (a) the Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright and  (b) the Merial site, Pirbright.

Jonathan R Shaw: The licences were signed by a DEFRA official experienced in laboratory inspections. Merial's licence was restored following detailed DEFRA and Health and Safety Executive inspections that confirmed the terms of the licence (including operating procedures and installation of security measures) had been fully met, and that it was safe for vaccine production to recommence.
	Following an incident announced by DEFRA on 22 November, Merial's Special Animal Pathogens Order (SAPO) licence was suspended. The incident was contained in the closed, re-lined drainage system, and there was no release of virus to the environment. An inspection team is producing a full report for the Acting Chief Veterinary Officer, and further action will then be considered.

Irish Sea: Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the Irish Discard Project to be completed; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: I will again be seeking additional days at sea for vessels participating in the Irish Sea data enhancement pilot. We expect the pilot to produce results by the end of next year and will review progress in the spring.

Marine and Fisheries Directorate

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the long-term objectives are of the Marine and Fisheries Directorate; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The purpose of DEFRA's Marine and Fisheries Directorate is to support the Government's work to achieve its marine vision of clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas.

Marine Fisheries Science Group

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which stakeholders form the membership of the Marine Fisheries Science Group; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The DEFRA Marine Fisheries Science Advisory Group was set up in 2006 to advise DEFRA on its marine fisheries science programme. The Group is chaired by John Shepherd, Professor of Oceanography at Southampton university, and its membership is made up of individuals invited in a personal capacity, on the basis of their expertise and previous contributions to discussions of relevant issues.
	Group members come from a wide range of sectors, including: DEFRA and other devolved administrations, Government laboratories such as the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and Fisheries Research Services, academic universities, Sea Fisheries Committees, fisher's organisations, fish producers organisations, individual fishers, The Sea Fish Industry Authority, The Food and Drink Federation, The Sea Anglers Conservation Network, and conservation groups such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the Marine Conservation Society.

Organic Farming: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many organic farmers there were in each county in the East of England in each year since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: Information on the number of organic farms is given in the following table. This shows the number of organic farms in the eastern England Government office region between 2004 and 2007 (based on data collected at January of each year). Prior to 2004 data are unavailable.
	
		
			  Number of organic farms in the eastern region of England 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Bedfordshire 12 10 8 7 
			 Cambridgeshire 43 47 43 44 
			 Essex 52 48 51 50 
			 Hertfordshire 10 12 9 11 
			 Norfolk 78 84 78 88 
			 Suffolk 63 58 64 67 
			 Eastern England 258 259 253 267 
			  Source:  DEFRA Statistics

Science Advisory Council: Biofuels

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Science Advisory Council last met to discuss  (a) biofuels and  (b) bovine tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The DEFRA Science Advisory Council (SAC) last discussed biofuels for transport on 17 October 2007. Minutes of the meeting will be published on the SAC website by mid-December.
	The new DEFRA Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA) agreed to report to Council on his progress in identifying priorities for future SAC advice, to assist with SAC's long-term work planning. The CSA will prepare a strategy paper outlining these priorities, which will be considered in light of DEFRA's long-term research strategy, for SAC's next meeting on 29 January 2008. The paper will include comment on whether SAC advice may be required on biofuels, and if so in what capacity.
	SAC last formally discussed bovine tuberculosis (bTB) on 19 July 2007. Minutes of the meeting are available on the DEFRA website.
	During the last month, SAC has been asked for further comment on the science of this issue.
	In October 2007 following the publication of the report "Bovine Tuberculosis in Cattle and Badgers" the DEFRA CSA requested advice via the SAC Chair, on the science issues raised by this report.
	All current SAC members have been asked to consider whether any new information, not previously available or considered by SAC since their last formal advice on this issue, impacts on the advice they had already given. This advice will be published on the DEFRA SAC website in due course.

Science Advisory Council: Biofuels

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice he  (a) has sought and  (b) has been provided with by the Science Advisory Council on (i) biofuels and (ii) bovine tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Secretary of State has not directly requested or sought advice on biofuels or bovine tuberculosis (bTB) from the DEFRA Science Advisory Council (SAC).
	In 2005, a small sub-group of the Council (SAC-bTB), was asked by the DEFRA Chief Science Adviser (CSA) to
	"Consider the Literature Review of research on bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and the comments from the peer review thereof, and provide an overview assessment for the CSA on the quality of the available scientific evidence".
	This included an assessment of the extent to which the research was fit for purpose, robust and could be trusted by stakeholders, This also included a wider strategic consideration of any scientific issues, including uncertainties or unknowns, that might not have been considered by the reviews, and that may be relevant in preparing advice to Ministers.

Sea Fisheries Committees

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what his plans are to modernise sea fisheries committees (SFCs); whether they include proposals to change the composition of the membership of SFCs; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what reforms he is planning to change the composition of the membership of Sea Fisheries Committees; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Marine Bill White Paper sets out proposals to reform Sea Fisheries Committees (SFCs) in England. The proposals include a clear purpose and duties, strengthened byelaw-making and enforcement powers and enhanced funding arrangements. Under these proposals, the composition and membership of reformed SFCs will be:
	i. local authority members (one third);
	ii. Marine Management Organisation (one seat);
	iii. Environment Agency (one seat); and
	iv. Natural England (one seat).
	The balance will be made up of persons acquainted with the needs and opinions of the fishing community and persons with knowledge of or expertise in marine environmental matters. The maximum number of members shall be 21.
	SFCs in Wales are the responsibility of Welsh Assembly Government.

Seas and Oceans: Biodiversity

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding his Department provided for marine biodiversity science in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department directly funds marine biodiversity science through its research and development programme for biodiversity. Since 1997, expenditure on marine science has grown from around £180,000 to well over £800,000 per year. A summary of approximate expenditure per year is outlined as follows:
	
		
			   Expenditure (£) 
			 2007-08 847,000 
			 2006-07 870,000 
			 2005-06 831,000 
			 2004-05 692,000 
			 2003-04 449,000 
			 2002-03 774,000 
			 2001-02 479,000 
			 2000-01 415,000 
			 1999-2000 207,000 
			 1998-99 189,000 
			 1997-98 184,000 
		
	
	A significant amount of the funding has been spent on cetacean research, in particular, the UK Standings Scheme and work to determine the abundance and distribution of cetaceans in UK waters. Funds have also been used to assist in expanding our knowledge of the range of habitats found in our seas. This has included the funding of marine surveys in areas beyond 12 nautical miles to identify Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), and the development of UK Seamap; a series of marine landscape maps which are based on a modelling exercise to predict marine landscape types likely to be found in UK marine waters. Such research outputs will be useful in marine spatial planning.
	In addition, marine biodiversity science is undertaken indirectly via other programmes within the Department. It is, however, harder to separate out the exact proportion of the spend which could be regarded as biodiversity research back to 1997. It is estimated that, this year alone, a further £400,000 could be regarded as marine biodiversity science research from the Marine Environment research and development programme.
	The figures in the table do not include marine biodiversity science expenditure by the Conservation Agencies, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and Natural England. These two bodies are responsible for the implementation of marine biodiversity policy in UK offshore waters and territorial waters of England respectively. DEFRA provides funds to these agencies for the delivery of marine nature conservation policy. Both of these organisations fund relevant science to ensure the effective delivery of policy. For instance, in 2007-08, the JNCC were provided with £1 million to complete offshore survey work, and a considerable proportion of this budget will be spent on commissioning offshore survey of areas believed to be important for conservation purposes.

Sugar Beet

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he or his Ministers have had with the EU Commissioner or her officials on the possible use of sugar beet compensation funding for growers who were forced to cease production as a result of the closure of York and Alscott factories.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 3 December 2007
	Amendments to Council Regulations on sugar were discussed and agreed at the Agriculture Council in September. Subsequent to this, my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Sustainable Food and Farming and Animal Health (Lord Rooker), wrote to the Commissioner about the implementing regulation, which was being discussed at the Management Committee.
	British Sugar have made an application for restructuring aid, which includes a proposal based on consultation with the National Farmers' Union for the distribution of any aid due to growers and previous growers. The application is being considered.

Tortoises: Imports

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of wild tortoises imported from Slovenia in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: No estimate has been made. Since Slovenia joined the European Union in May 2004, figures for the movement of tortoises from Slovenia to the UK ceased to exist. Tortoises can be moved freely within the Community. However, if the tortoises are being used for commercial purposes and are of a species controlled at the highest level within the EU (Annex A) then they will require certificates that have been issued under Article 10 of the European Wildlife Trade Regulations, granted by the member state where the specimen is located.
	The UK has issued 8,700 such certificates for Annex A tortoises originating in Slovenia since May 2004. All of these have been for captive bred tortoises. No certificates have been issued since May 2004 for wild taken tortoises.

UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects a UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy to be implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy (UKMMAS) will reach the end of its 'transition phase' in January 2008. By then, the underlying concepts of the UKMMAS will have been embedded across the Government, devolved administrations, agencies, and other organisations responsible for the collection of marine monitoring data.
	As we enter the 'business as usual' phase of the UKMMAS, post January 2008, work will continue in ensuring its requirements can be met by all in the marine monitoring community. It is during this phase of the UKMMAS where the real benefits of improved co-ordination of marine monitoring activities will become apparent.
	Instigating such a fundamental step-change in our approach to marine monitoring has, at times, been challenging. Support for the process has always been excellent and benefits are already becoming apparent by way of improved efficiencies and community building.

White Fish: Conservation

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the cod recovery plan; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The UK has recently provided the Commission with its views on the future of the cod recovery mechanism, copies of which I have arranged to be placed in the Libraries of the House. In the meantime, we are exploring with them and the UK industry, possible changes to the scheme for 2008, designed to reduce cod mortality in the short-term, which does not simply involve blunt cuts in days at sea. We will return to the longer term position next year in the context of the ongoing review.

White Fish: Fishing Catches

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he decided to keep the minimum landing size for bass at 36cm; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: I announced my decision to retain the minimum landing size for bass at 36 centimetres on 25 October 2007. My decision was made following the meeting I convened on 1 October 2007 to discuss this issue with representatives from the sea angling and commercial fishing sectors. Details of my announcement are set out in the autumn 2007 edition of 'Fishing Focus', available in the Library of the House.

Wildlife: Trade

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to tackle the trade in wildlife on the internet in  (a) the United Kingdom and  (b) globally.

Joan Ruddock: In the UK, the Government are working with various organisations such as the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW), HM Revenue and Customs and the police to establish the extent of trade taking place over the internet that is illegal, and to find effective ways to tackle this. We are also working with the trade, website owners, enforcement experts and other stakeholders to establish codes of practice for internet providers and users.
	Globally, we are working with other parties to the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES) to carry forward the internet trade proposal agreed at the CITES 14th conference of parties (CoP14). This proposal will gauge the scale and nature of illegal internet trade in wildlife globally and then consider ways to tackle illegal internet trade.
	We are working closely with enforcement agencies, NGOs, internet providers and website owners to contribute to the review from a UK perspective and the UK Government have already provided the CITES Secretariat with £15,000 to take this work forward.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Public Order Offences

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received from  (a) the Association of Chief Police Officers and  (b) the Police Federation on the proposed introduction and implementation of alcohol disorder zones.

Vernon Coaker: There have been no representations received from the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Police Federation on the proposed introduction and implementation of alcohol disorder zones since the consultation detailed in the Explanatory Memorandum laid with the associated Statutory Instrument in Parliament on 21 November 2007.

Arrests: Drugs

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people under the age of 18 years were  (a) arrested and  (b) charged with possession of Class (i) A, (ii) B and (iii) C drugs in each police force area in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The arrests collection undertaken by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform provides data on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, by age group, gender, ethnicity, and main offence group, i.e. violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, drugs offences etc. More detailed data about specific offences do not form part of this collection.

Cambridgeshire Alcohol Project

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the applicability of the methods utilised in the Cambridgeshire Alcohol Project on a national scale.

Vernon Coaker: We recognise and greatly welcome the success of Cambridgeshire's award winning "Think 21" alcohol project in driving down the sale of alcohol to under age customers and have begun to assess the best ways in which to promote this scheme nationally.
	This work is being taking forward in conjunction with recent national confiscation of alcohol and tackling under-age sales of alcohol campaigns as well as the ongoing responsible alcohol sales campaigns which clamp down on irresponsible retailers who break the law by selling alcohol to children while highlighting the law on under age drinking in public places.

Commissioner of the Police for the Metropolis: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representatives she has received from  (a) hon. Members and  (b) members of the public calling for the (i) removal and (ii) resignation of the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Home Office Ministers have received seven letters from right hon. and hon. Members about this matter. These enclosed or referred to three letters from members of the public. Home Office Ministers have received seven further letters direct from members of the public. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's letter of 6 November to the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis) made it clear that Sir Ian Blair has her full support.

Crime: Firearms

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to receive the report she has commissioned from the President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, on gun and gang crime.

Vernon Coaker: We have received this report from the President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, and it is currently being considered by the ministerial taskforce for the tackling gangs action programme.

Crime: Firearms

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which community projects have been identified to receive the £1 million of additional funding announced on 9 September to help combat gun and gang crime.

Vernon Coaker: The initial funding has been allocated to:  (a) police led partnership initiatives in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and London, including mediation and mentoring services; and  (b) agencies involved in a day of action focused on operations to disrupt gang activity and the supply of illegal firearms and ammunition. Decisions on the allocation of the remaining funds should be made by Christmas, and this will include providing some funding to build the capacity of community groups to deliver effective interventions.

Departmental Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of inquiries received by her Department from the public were responded to within  (a) one week,  (b) 14 days,  (c) 28 days,  (d) two months and  (e) three months in the last period for which figures are available; and in what percentage of cases it took (i) over three months and (ii) over one year to respond.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office reports its ministerial correspondence performance annually to the Cabinet Office. The report publishes details for the Home Office and its agencies separately. Details for the calendar year 2006 were published by way of a written ministerial statement on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, column 101WS, as follows:
	
		
			  Ministerial correspondence 2006 
			   Target for reply (working days)  Number of letters received  Percentage of replies within target 
			 Home Office (non BIA correspondence) 15 9,583 93 
			 Criminal Records Bureau 10 378 93 
			 Border & Immigration Agency (BIA)(1) 20 41,534 78 
			 Identity and Passport Service 10 679 68 
			 (1 )Formerly immigration and nationality directorate (IND) 
		
	
	In the same year, performance on public letters in the Home Office was 94 per cent. replied to within the 20 working day target, while 93 per cent. of e-mails were similarly replied to.
	Performance in 2006 across the periods requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Number of cases received  Within 1 week  Within 14 days  Within 28 days  Within 2 months  Within 3 months  Over 3 months  Over 1 year 
			  Home Office (excluding BIA)   
			 MP's letters 9,588 30 78 98 99 100 0 0 
			 Public letters 14,516 51 64 92 99 99 1 0 
			 Public e-mails 14,330 54 67 91 98 99 1 0 
			  
			  Border and Immigration Agency (BIA)   
			 MP's letters 41,534 10.90 29.50 78.10 94.40 97.20 100 n/a 
			 Public letters n/k n/k n/k n/k n/k n/k n/k n/k 
			 Public e-mails 190,813 100 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			  Identity and Passport Service HQ (IPS) 
			   Number of cases received  Dealt with within service level agreement target date (percentage) 
			
			 MP letters 679 (1)68 
			 Public letters 40,334 (1)99.1 
			 Public e-mails 29,433 (2)95.8 
			 (1) 10 working days. (2 )Two working days. 
		
	
	IPS records are not held in such a way as to be able to provide the information requested on correspondence dealt with within longer periods. Manual records would have to be checked and disproportionate costs would be incurred.
	
		
			 Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) 
			   Number of cases received  Dealt with within service level agreement target date (percentage) 
			
			 MP letters 378 (1)93 
			 Public letters 40,334 (1)99.1 
			 Public e-mails 29,433 (2)95.8 
			 (1) 10 working days. (2 )Two working days. 
		
	
	CRB records are not held in such a way as to be able to provide the information requested on correspondence dealt with within longer periods. Manual records would have to be checked and disproportionate costs would be incurred.

Driving Offences: Mobile Phones

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been for using a handheld mobile telephone while driving since the offence was introduced, broken down by  (a) year and  (b) police authority.

Vernon Coaker: Driving while using a hand held mobile phone became a specific offence from 1 December 2003.
	Available information on prosecutions from 2003 to 2005 is provided in the table. 2006 data will be available next year.
	Offences are also dealt with by the offer of a fixed penalty. In 2003, there were 1,888 tickets paid, in 2004 there were 73,976 tickets paid and 126,768 tickets were paid in 2005.
	
		
			  Fixed penalty notices issued( 1)  and court proceedings( 2)  at the magistrates courts for the offence of use of hand held mobile phone while driving( 3)  by police force area, England and Wales, 2003-05 
			  Number of offences 
			   2003  2004  2005 
			  Police force area  Fixed penalty notices issued  Total court proceedings( 2)  Fixed penalty notices issued  Total court proceedings( 2)  Fixed penalty notices issued  Total court proceedings( 2) 
			 Avon and Somerset 0 0 1,902 19 2,502 47 
			 Bedfordshire 10 1 579 5 944 16 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 0 219 7 1,347 19 
			 Cheshire 0 0 2,689 2 2,891 15 
			 Cleveland 13 0 1,066 4 1,955 7 
			 Cumbria 13 0 528 24 1,021 41 
			 Derbyshire 13 0 978 17 1,501 52 
			 Devon and Cornwall 345 0 796 19 1,482 27 
			 Dorset 0 0 521 0 657 3 
			 Durham 0 0 504 1 963 2 
			 Essex 0 0 2,431 28 4,369 64 
			 Gloucestershire 147 0 632 1 1,208 4 
			 Greater Manchester 0 0 8,166 73 12,904 154 
			 Hampshire 54 0 2,032 18 4,078 40 
			 Hertfordshire 0 0 2,526 6 3,923 70 
			 Humberside 0 0 381 4 1,202 25 
			 Kent 15 0 1,707 0 4,829 0 
			 Lancashire 34 0 1,719 17 3,079 48 
			 Leicestershire 17 0 759 12 254 28 
			 Lincolnshire 7 0 1,529 9 2,514 15 
			 London, City of 45 0 137 7 1,647 14 
			 Merseyside 0 0 1,836 22 5,684 27 
			 Metropolitan Police 681 0 13,581 203 18,035 658 
			 Norfolk 17 0 887 20 904 21 
			 Northamptonshire 1 0 297 0 971 0 
			 Northumbria 56 0 1,271 32 2,409 22 
			 North Yorkshire 5 0 720 18 1,289 35 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 0 653 8 1,637 26 
			 South Yorkshire 28 0 1,978 12 3,978 25 
			 Staffordshire 12 0 264 11 2,346 21 
			 Suffolk 42 0 978 7 1,707 22 
			 Surrey 164 0 2,213 9 3,575 91 
			 Sussex 0 0 546 1 1,105 2 
			 Thames Valley 25 0 3,716 24 7,111 126 
			 Warwickshire 0 0 621 7 918 17 
			 West Mercia 0 0 2,200 17 5,246 59 
			 West Midlands 144 0 3,864 61 5,065 109 
			 West Yorkshire 0 0 2,368 11 4,272 47 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 700 21 1,226 29 
			 Dyfed Powys 0 0 363 13 628 16 
			 Gwent 0 0 517 0 938 4 
			 North Wales 0 0 999 3 424 17 
			 South Wales 0 0 1,603 16 2,030 25 
			
			 England and Wales 1,888 1 73,976 789 126,768 2,090 
			 (1) Covers tickets paid where there is no further action. (2) Includes cases where a fixed penalty notice was originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court. (3) Offences under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, Regulations 110 (1), 110 (2) and 110 (3). Introduced 1 December 2003. Notes: 1. 0 = nil. 2. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. 3. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Fixed Penalty Notices Issued Collection and Court Proceedings Database, both held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform (Ministry of Justice, M and SDC416-07)

Drug Seizures

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many seizures of  (a) methamphetamine,  (b) cannabis,  (c) cocaine and  (d) heroin were made by police forces in England and Wales in each year since 1997; and what the total quantity of each substance was seized.

Vernon Coaker: Available data for each year between 1997 and 2005 have been published in area tables of the annual 'Seizures of Drugs in England and Wales' series and are shown in the following tables. Seizures of methamphetamine cannot be separately identified from the total for amphetamines.
	Drugs are seized in a variety of forms but in table 2 quantities are shown as weights (kg), apart from quantity of cannabis plants which is shown as number of plants.
	Conversion factors are applied to estimate the overall quantity for each drug. From 2005 these conversion factors have been revised and quantities data for 2005 are not directly comparable to those for previous years.
	Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces and other agencies. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of seizures( 1)  of controlled drugs by selected drug type: England and Wales 1997 to 2005 
			  Drug type  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Amphetamines(2) 16,187 16,290 11,510 6,032 5,924 5,785 5,790 6,108 7,360 
			   
			 Cannabis:(3)  
			 Herbal 24,814 27,987 23,605 24,437 28,532 36,911 32,858 38,595 69,766 
			 Resin 63,537 67,792 57,962 49,454 46,626 44,662 40,976 32,727 38,572 
			 Plants 3,568 2,696 2,157 1,893 1,711 2,199 2,680 2,780 4,098 
			 Total(4) 73,450 86,540 92,210 78,350 73,220 74,250 79,600 74,613 111,212 
			   
			 Cocaine 2,930 4,114 4,619 4,254 4,806 4,515 5,750 6,787 10,711 
			 Heroin 10,444 12,593 12,644 12,971 14,517 12,543 10,460 10,980 13,243 
			 (1) As a seizure can involve more than one drug, figures for individual drugs cannot be added together to produce totals. (2) Methamphetamine seizures cannot be separately identified from total number of amphetamine seizures. (3) With effect from 1 April 2004 the Home Office issued guidance that gave an additional disposal option of a formal warning for cannabis possession. The widespread and growing use of this new disposal is thought to have been a likely contributory factor in the increase in the number of police seizures for cannabis in 2005. (4) As a seizure can involve more than one form of cannabis, the 'cannabis total' figure is not the sum of its different forms. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table: Quantity( 1,)( )( 2)  of controlled drugs seized by selected drug type: England and Wales 1997 to 2005 
			 Drug type 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
			 Amphetamines(3) 574 485 844 908 963 682 836 931 964 
			   
			 Cannabis:  
			 Herbal (kg) 8,184 1,368 1,588 9,255 7,183 3,823 13,909 2,789 2,905 
			 Resin (kg) 60,794 12,488 10,789 27,499 20,011 8,657 27,861 21,676 25,045 
			 Plants (number) 77,573 70,017 53,058 45,462 67,679 52,118 80,498 88,674 208,357 
			 Total(4) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			   
			 Cocaine (kg) 273 123 440 1,549 997 161 1,912 1,266 1,006 
			 Heroin (kg) 421 319 1,292 1,946 2,682 1,595 1,038 1,131 770 
			 n/a = not applicable (1) All quantities are in kilograms except for ecstasy-type (doses) and cannabis plants (numbers). (2) Drugs are seized in a variety of forms but, where possible, amounts have been converted to weights (kg) and, for cannabis plants, number of plants. Conversion factors have been revised for 2005 data. 2005 quantity data should not be directly compared to those for previous years. (3) Quantity of methamphetamine cannot be separately identified from total amount of amphetamines seized. (4) It is not possible to combine cannabis weights (kg) and amount (plants) to give a 'cannabis total quantity'

Drugs: Telephone Services

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will give a breakdown of callers to the FRANK helpline by category of relevant drug in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	Data for the breakdown of calls to the FRANK Helpline by category of relevant drug taken from call dates between 1 April 2007 to 1 November 2007, are outlined in the following table:
	
		
			  Description  Count  Percentage 
			 Cannabis 6,617 25.39 
			 Cocaine 5,728 21.98 
			 Drugs (not specific) 3,696 14.18 
			 Heroin 2,304 8.84 
			 Ecstasy 1,552 5.96 
			 Crack 1,043 4.00 
			 Amphetamines 848 3.25 
			 Other 767 2.94 
			 Alcohol 762 2.92 
			 Methadone 389 1.49 
			 Ketamine 385 1.48 
			 Anabolic Steroids 211 0.81 
			 Prescription drugs 204 0.78 
			 LSD 183 0.70 
			 Crystal Meth/Methamphetamines 158 0.61 
			 Volatile substances 148 0.57 
			 Hallucinogenic Mushrooms 136 0.52 
			 Subutex 136 0.52 
			 Valium/Diazepam 133 0.51 
			 Alkyl Nitrates 123 0.47 
			 Other Opiates 101 0.39 
			 GHB 74 0.28 
			 Misuse of other drugs 74 0.28 
			 Other Benzodiazepines 70 0.27 
			 Herbal Highs 45 0.17 
			 Naltrexene 34 0.13 
			 Tobacco 32 0.12 
			 Temazapam 29 0.11 
			 Rohypnol 28 0.11 
			 Hepatitis C 21 0.08 
			 PCP 11 0.04 
			 Viagra 11 0.04 
			 Khat 6 0.02 
			 Total 26,059 100.00

Police: Greater London

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in  (a) London and  (b) each London borough in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The available information is in the following tables. Police officer figures for London boroughs were collected centrally from 2003.
	 [Official Report, 20 February 2008, Vol. 472, c. 5MC.]
	
		
			  Number of police officers for London and London boroughs: 1997 to 2007( 1) 
			  Table A: Police officers (FTE) for London: 1997 to 2002( 1) 
			   Year ending 31 March: 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002 
			 London(2) 27,536 26,919 26,851 26,217 25,581 26,987 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Police officers (FTE) for London and London boroughs: 2003 to 2007( 1) 
			   Year ending 31 March: 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Barking and Dagenham 360 384 419 426 427 
			 Barnet 522 541 561 554 551 
			 Bexley 315 338 383 361 371 
			 Brent 619 683 679 667 672 
			 Bromley 417 459 489 484 493 
			 Camden 719 794 850 854 812 
			 City of Westminster 1,565 1,637 1,617 1,572 1,561 
			 Croydon 624 659 692 694 684 
			 Ealing 652 697 686 673 681 
			 Enfield 490 538 575 560 582 
			 Greenwich 604 583 605 615 632 
			 Hackney 673 766 789 767 744 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 513 516 526 553 562 
			 Haringey 633 682 683 717 689 
			 Harrow 302 333 342 347 354 
			 Havering 340 343 383 380 383 
			 Hillingdon 458 484 498 506 495 
			 Hounslow 467 472 510 501 519 
			 Islington 623 680 683 685 678 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 528 575 562 574 568 
			 Kingston upon Thames 272 275 298 307 294 
			 Lambeth 968 941 984 994 953 
			 Lewisham 571 625 646 649 619 
			 Merton 304 339 352 353 377 
			 Newham 692 781 782 781 758 
			 Redbridge 393 440 459 471 467 
			 Richmond upon Thames 284 285 287 294 303 
			 Southwark 838 869 891 873 846 
			 Sutton 266 280 291 307 306 
			 Tower Hamlets 686 760 761 775 756 
			 Waltham Forest 486 533 546 556 543 
			 Wandsworth 557 612 582 607 599 
			   
			 City of London 434 445 438 438 412 
			   
			 London(2) 28,792 30,588 31,586 31,823 31,564 
			 (1) All figures are full-time equivalents (FTE) rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) The London totals comprise officer totals for Metropolitan police and City of London police. They are 'not' totals of the London boroughs because they also include Heathrow and Central Services. Excludes officers on career breaks and maternity/paternity leave.

Prostitution

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many men were  (a) arrested and  (b) prosecuted for crimes arising from them paying for sex in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The arrests collection undertaken by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform only provides data on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) by age group, gender, ethnicity, and main offence group, i.e. violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, etc. More detailed data about specific offences do not form part of this collection.
	The following table sets out the number of men proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts in England and Wales between 2001 and 2005 for offences related to paying for sex.
	
		
			  Number of male persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for selected sexual offences, England and Wales 2001-05( 1, 2) 
			   Offence description  Principal statute  Proceeded against 
			 2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 2700 Soliciting by a man Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.32 10 7 15 6 1 
			 7104 Paying for sex with a female child under 16—no penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.47(1,2,4b) (3)— (3)— (3)— 1 — 
			 7105 Paying for sex with a male child under 16—no penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 8:47(1,2,45) (3)— (3)— (3)— — 3 
			 7114 Paying for sex with a female child under 16—penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003 8.47(1 afbIci,2,4a,6) (3)— (3)— (3)— 1 — 
			 16501 Kerb-crawling Sexual Offences Act 1985 Sec 1. 914 1,047 944 836 710 
			 16502 Persistent soliciting of women for the purpose of prostitution Sexual Offences Act 1985 Sec 2. 97 119 69 64 41 
			  Total  1,021 1,173 1,028 908 755 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3) Data not applicable (2003 Sexual Offences Act did not come into force until 2004).

Rape: Drugs

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) reports of,  (b) arrests for and  (c) convictions for drug rape were made in London in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally. Data on offences of rape recorded by the police are collected by the Home Office. Data on arrests and those convicted are collected by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. However, it is not possible to separately identify drug rapes in either statistical series.

Special Constables

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there were in  (a) England and  (b) each London borough in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The available information is in the following tables. Police officer figures for London boroughs were collected centrally from 2003.
	
		
			  Number of special constables: 1997 to 2007 
			  Table A: Special constables for London and England: 1997 to 2002( 1) 
			  Headcount 
			   Year ending 31 March: 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002 
			 London(2) 1,800 1,358 1,202 814 817 716 
			 England 18,732 17,159 15,396 13,512 11,949 10,897 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Special constables for London and England: 2003 to 2007( 1) 
			  Headcount 
			   Year ending 31 March: 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Barking and Dagenham 14 14 10 21 28 
			 Barnet 41 38 35 73 94 
			 Bexley 27 74 81 103 101 
			 Bishopsgate 20 28 27 32 35 
			 Brent 28 29 27 29 19 
			 Bromley 14 12 10 24 47 
			 Camden 21 28 22 52 78 
			 Central Services 19 20 27 41 114 
			 City of Westminster 64 85 81 166 251 
			 Croydon 23 17 14 20 36 
			 Ealing 16 21 14 24 37 
			 Enfield 25 20 17 23 30 
			 Greenwich 16 17 7 42 44 
			 Hackney 13 12 9 19 25 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 18 20 19 44 58 
			 Haringey 12 13 14 27 43 
			 Harrow 16 13 10 22 52 
			 Havering 26 29 33 41 52 
			 Heathrow 9 7 12 16 17 
			 Hillingdon 19 15 15 22 38 
			 Hounslow 20 18 15 23 21 
			 Islington 35 39 35 32 40 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 15 14 20 37 51 
			 Kingston upon Thames 16 15 13 32 40 
			 Lambeth 21 20 20 35 42 
			 Lewisham 14 13 9 33 42 
			 Merton 17 17 17 21 19 
			 Newham 18 16 15 23 42 
			 Redbridge 19 17 16 34 54 
			 Richmond upon Thames 21 19 17 25 36 
			 Snowhill 21 24 24 32 30 
			 Southwark 17 18 9 25 36 
			 Sutton 7 6 4 11 25 
			 Tower Hamlets 14 17 20 34 36 
			 Waltham Forest 19 16 10 19 25 
			 Wandsworth 19 15 21 34 68 
			   
			 City of London 41 52 51 64 65 
			   
			 London 734 796 749 1,291 1,815 
			   
			 England 10,449 10,359 11,285 12,431 13,221 
			 (1) Figures for specials are counted in terms of headcount rather than full-time equivalent. (2) The London totals comprise officer totals for Metropolitan police and City of London police. They are 'not' totals of the London boroughs because they also include Heathrow and Central Services. Excludes officers on career breaks and maternity/paternity leave. 
		
	
	—continued

Swords and Daggers

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will introduce regulations to restrict the sale, re-sale and importation of samurai swords; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Government issued a consultation paper in March 2007 seeking views on proposals to ban samurai swords and other offensive weapons. We expect to publish a summary of responses to the consultation paper before the end of the year, which will set out the Government's intentions on introducing regulations to restrict the sale, re-sale and importation of samurai swords.

HEALTH

Brent Teaching Primary Care Trust

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish the findings of the Taylor Review into the financial management of Brent Primary Care Trust.

Ben Bradshaw: We have no plans to publish the findings of this review as this is a matter for the local national health service. However, we are informed by NHS London that the report has not yet been finalised and is going through due process.
	I have asked the chair of Brent Teaching Primary Care Trust to write to the hon. Member regarding this matter.

Dental Services

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to make adjustments to the distribution of units of dental activity across different dental functions in light of the experience of the April 2006 dental contracts.

Ann Keen: Units of dental activity are essentially banded courses of treatment, weighted according to the relative average complexity of the three dental charge bands. The current weightings are derived from the previous general dental services fee-scale. Each fee included an element which reflected the relative time taken for the procedure and the expenses incurred. The weighted averaging inherent in the new system means some courses of treatment will involve more time and expense than the average for that band, others less. There are no plans to change the distribution of the existing weighted courses of treatment. However dentists' working patterns under the new system are kept under review.

Dental Services

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the April 2006 dental contract on the provision of maintenance dental activities, including screening for oral cancer, preventing decay and monitoring children's dental growth and need for orthodontics.

Ann Keen: Preventive as well as diagnostic treatments are included in a Band 1 course of treatment as set out in Schedule 1 to the NHS (Dental Charges) Regulations 2005 (SI. 2005/3477 as amended). Under a Band 1 course of treatment dentists are required to undertake a clinical examination and diagnosis. Diagnosis includes checking for signs of oral diseases such as oral cancer and any issues with developing teeth and face including any need for orthodontic correction. A Band 1 course of treatment also provides for instruction in the prevention of dental and oral disease including dietary advice and dental hygiene instruction, surface application as primary preventive measures of sealants and topical fluoride preparations where clinically indicated. Epidemiological surveys of child dental health are generally undertaken by salaried dentists employed by primary care trusts.

Dental Services

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the April 2006 dental contract on  (a) existing and  (b) newly-established dental practices.

Ann Keen: Dentists providing general dental services (GDS) at 31 March 2006 were entitled to a contract under the new arrangements and a contract value based on historic GDS gross earnings. This was designed to protect those income levels for a three year transitional period. The Department is not aware of significant differences in experience between existing and newly established providers of primary care dental services under the new dental system.

Dental Services

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the total shortfall of units of dental activity (UDAs) was among NHS dentists in England who did not undertake the contracted number of UDAs in the financial year 2006-07;
	(2)  what average number of units of dental activity (UDAs) undertaken was as a percentage of the contracted number of UDAs for NHS dentists in England in the financial year 2006-07.

Ann Keen: Data released by the Dental Services Division of the Business Service Authority show that the total shortfall for national health service dental contracts delivering less than 100 per cent. of contracted activity in 2006-07 was 5.3 million units of dental activity. 94.8 per cent. of total contracted units of dental activity were delivered in 2006-07.
	 Notes
	1. The data are available by NHS dental contract. A contract may cover one dentist or a number of dentists.
	2. The data provided relate to contracts open for the whole of 2006-07.

Dental Services

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) dentists and  (b) orthodontists provided services to the NHS in each of the last five years, broken down by primary care trust.

Ann Keen: Numbers of national health service dentists at primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) level as at 31 March 1997 to 2006 are available in Annex E of the "NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006". Information at parliamentary constituency level is available in Annex G.
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements. This report is available in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-worforce-report-england-31-march-2006
	The numbers of NHS dentists at PCT and SHA level as at 30 June, 30 September, 31 December 2006 and 31 March 2007 are available in Table El of Annex 3 of the NHS "Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07" report. This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006.
	This report is available in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0607
	The inclusion of dentists on trust led contracts in the data collection following the 2006 reforms means that data collected since April 2006 cannot be directly compared with data collected under the previous system.
	The numbers quoted in the above reports are headcounts and do not differentiate between full- and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.
	In both of these reports, it is not possible to separately identify dentists undertaking orthodontic work.
	Orthodontist information is only separately identifiable within the Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) of which PCTs are not a part. The following table shows HCHS data for England and SHA areas.
	
		
			  HCHS : Orthodontic dental staff by SHA area ,  England as at 30 September each year 
			  N umber (headcount) 
			2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			All  s taff  Of which:  Consultant  All  s taff  Of which:  Consultant  All  s taff  Of which:  Consultant  All  s taff  Of which:  Consultant  All  s taff  Of which:  Consultant 
			 England  508 161 522 178 521 180 552 206 544 189 
			 North East Q30 30 11 37 10 33 9 35 9 36 7 
			 North West Q31 65 21 62 20 62 25 68 25 65 26 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber Q32 68 26 67 28 68 31 64 27 59 24 
			 East Midlands Q33 41 10 46 12 43 12 41 14 46 16 
			 West Midlands Q34 55 12 54 15 52 15 54 19 62 19 
			 East of England Q35 49 14 43 14 34 12 39 16 42 17 
			 London Q36 82 26 82 31 85 29 120 49 89 31 
			 South East Coast Q37 34 11 38 13 40 14 40 13 37 13 
			 South Central Q38 28 13 35 17 31 14 35 15 37 16 
			 South West Q39 56 17 58 18 73 19 56 19 71 20 
			  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census 
		
	
	The methodology and frequency for reporting workforce information are being reviewed. The purpose of the review is to ensure that, following experience of the first year of the new dental contract, figures provide an appropriate measure of the workforce, given the way that the workforce reporting system is being used by PCTs. An update on the review will be provided in the "NHS Dentals Statistics for England, Quarter 2, 30 September 2007" publication, which is due to be published in February 2008.

Dental Services

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people were registered with an NHS dentist in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The proportion of the population registered with an NHS dentist, in England, as at 31 March 1997 to 2006 is available in Annex B of the "NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report, England: 31 March 2006".
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements. This report was published on 23 August 2006 and has been placed in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006
	Under the new contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with a dentist to receive national health service care. The closest equivalent measure to 'registration' is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services ('patients seen') in a given area over a 24-month period, for that area. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
	The number of patients seen in the previous 24 months as a percentage of the population are available in Table C2 of Annex 3 of the "NHS Dental Statistics for England 2007-08 Quarter 1 30 June 2007" report. Information is available for the 24-month periods ending 31 March 2006, 31 March 2007 and 30 June 2007.
	This report, published on 28 November 2007, is available in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentstatsq10708
	Both reports have been published by The Information Centre for health and social care.

Dental Services: Finances

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account is taken in primary dental care service funding allocations of unmet demand for NHS dentistry provision.

Ann Keen: Primary care trusts (PCTs) were awarded devolved primary dental service funding allocations from 1 April 2006, based on the level of dental activity and costs observed in each area in the 12-month period October 2004 to September 2005, with appropriate additions to absorb subsequent annual contract value upratings, previously agreed service developments, and expected changes associated with the new ways of working fostered by the new dental contract. These initial allocations allowed PCTs to sustain national health service provision in each area and honour the commitment to offer all serving dentists replacement contracts. These historical levels of expenditure reflected where dentists had previously chosen to set up in practice and how much NHS work they chose to do.
	The new dental service reforms cannot correct historical imbalances in provision overnight, but by granting the NHS greater control they provide a stable base from which PCTs can plan further developments and use the flexibilities offered by the new contract to make the most effective use of dental resources. PCTs are best placed to assess factors such as the levels of unmet demand for NHS services in each locality, and can supplement provision for dentistry from within their total NHS resources if they consider this an appropriate local priority.
	Based on PCTs' initial devolved dental allocations, NHS net expenditure on primary care dental services in 2006-07, after taking account of the contribution from patient charges, was over £400 million higher than in 2003-04, an increase over three years of 30 per cent. which has helped the NHS expand services in some areas that had previously struggled to attract NHS dentists. The Department is reviewing the basis of PCT dental allocations after the initial three-year transitional period for the new service arrangements ends in March 2009.

Dental Services: Greater London

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) 18 to 65-year-olds and  (b) under 18-year-olds were registered for NHS dental treatment in (i) Uxbridge constituency, (ii) Hillingdon primary care trust and (iii) Greater London in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The numbers of patients registered with an NHS dentist at primary care trust and strategic health authority area are available in Annex A of the "NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report, England: 31 March 2006". Information is available annually as at 31 March 1997 to 2006 and is broken down by children (aged 17 and under) and adults (aged 18 and over). Information is available at parliamentary constituency area in Annex C of this report.
	This report, published on 23 August 2006, is available in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006

Departmental Public Expenditure

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how his Department absorbed its full near-cash overspend in 2005-06 from within its central budget;
	(2)  how his Department's near-cash overspend in 2005-06 was incurred, broken down by main budget heading.

Ben Bradshaw: The national health service net deficit was the main reason for additional near-cash expenditure in 2005-06. The Department of Health's Departmental Report 2007 provides a breakdown of 2005-06 NHS resource expenditure across programme budgets.
	As set out in the Budget 2006, there has been a re-profiling of the Department's budgets across the 2004 spending review years.

Disabled: Social Security Benefits

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet ministerial colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions to discuss the relationship between benefits paid to people with disabilities and the fuel costs incurred by such people because of their disability.

Ivan Lewis: Fuel poverty is recognised by the Department as an important factor in contributing to excess winter deaths and poor health. It is recognised that disabled people are at high risk of the effects of fuel poverty, with potential negative impacts upon their health and well being. The increased costs of fuel over the last few years, makes it more difficult for people on disability benefits to pay for adequate heating. Therefore we will meet with ministerial colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions to discuss the relationship between benefits paid to people with disabilities and the fuel costs incurred by such people because of their disability.

Doctors: Loans

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the ability of Foundation Year  (a) 1 and  (b) 2 doctors to make interest payments on their student loans.

Ann Keen: We have received no such representations. Student debt falls outside the remit of the Department.

Doctors: Training

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training places were provided for registrar group doctors in 2007, broken down by region and specialty.

Ann Keen: The requested information has been placed in the Library.

Eye Care Services Steering Group

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the membership is of the Eye Care Services Steering Group; and how many times it has met.

Ann Keen: The Eye Care Services Steering Group has met nine times since its inception in 2002. The membership consists of representatives from the national health service, eye care professional bodies and trade associations, social services, voluntary sector and a representative from the General Optical Council.

Heart Diseases: Medical Treatments

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions received  (a) a drug-eluting stent and  (b) a bare metal stent in each year since 2003 in (i) England, (ii) each strategic health authority and (iii) each NHS trust.

Ann Keen: This information has been placed in the Library.

Heart Diseases: Medical Treatments

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average number of bed days spent in hospital by patients receiving  (a) coronary artery bypass operations and  (b) percutaneous coronary interventions was in each year since guidance on the use of coronary artery stents was issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in 2003 in (i) England, (ii) each strategic health authority and (iii) each NHS trust.

Ann Keen: This information has been placed in the Library.

Heart Diseases: Medical Treatments

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cardiac rehabilitation programmes there are, broken down by NHS trust.

Ann Keen: The Department does not collect this information centrally. However, the British Heart Foundation and the British Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation maintain a voluntary register of cardiac rehabilitation programmes which holds details of around 340 programmes. Further details can be found on their website at:
	www.cardiac-rehabilitation.net/

Heart Diseases: Medical Treatments

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will provide funding to the National Heart and Lung Institute for a study of gender bias in cardiac treatment.

Ann Keen: Implementation of the Government's research strategy Best Research for Best Health is resulting in an expansion of the Department's research programmes and in significant new funding opportunities for health research. These National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) programmes support high quality research of relevance and in areas of high priority to patients and the national health service. Any academic organisation can apply to be considered for funding. Details, including the scope of the programmes and the arrangements for making applications, are available on the NIHR website at: www.nihr.ac.uk. Funding awards are in all cases made after open, competitive, peer review.

Heart Diseases: Transplant Surgery

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of using beating heart transplant technology in transplant units for one year; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We have made no estimate of the cost of using beating heart transplant technology in transplant units. It is for commissioners of heart transplant services to consider the clinical and cost effectiveness of any technology.

Heart Diseases: Waiting Times

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the likely effect on waiting times for cardiology treatment if the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's decision not to recommend treatment with drug-eluting stents in the NHS is upheld.

Ann Keen: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is reviewing its October 2003 guidance on the use of drug-eluting stents for the treatment of coronary artery disease. NICE is currently considering the responses it has received from stakeholders during the recent consultation on its draft recommendations.
	NICE expects to publish final guidance in March 2008. Waiting times for cardiology treatment are not expected to be affected by this publication next year, regardless of NICE's recommendations.

Heart Diseases: Waiting Times

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of patients waiting for  (a) coronary artery bypass operations and  (b) percutaneous coronary intervention were treated within the target 18 week working time from referral to treatment in (i) England, (ii) each strategic health authority and (iii) each NHS trust in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The Department does not collect this information centrally.

Heart Diseases: Waiting Times

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for patients waiting for  (a) coronary artery bypass operations and  (b) percutaneous coronary interventions was in each year since guidance on the use of coronary artery stents was issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in 2003 in (i) England, (ii) each strategic health authority and (iii) each NHS trust.

Ann Keen: This information has been placed in the Library.

Hospitals: Admissions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the mean age of patients admitted via accident and emergency was in 2005-06 in  (a) England and  (b) each primary care trust area.

Ben Bradshaw: The information has been placed in the Library.

Hospitals: Cleaning Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is planning to take to enable  (a) matrons and  (b) ward sisters to report concerns about hospital cleanliness.

Ann Keen: The Chief Nursing Officer and the Director General of National Health Service Finance, Performance and Operations wrote to the Chief Executives of strategic health authorities, NHS trusts and Foundation Trusts on 1 November setting out the requirements for local systems to ensure regular reporting to trust boards and for an escalation system to allow for nursing staff to raise their concerns.

Hospitals: Food

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average daily cost to the public purse was of food provided to each hospital patient in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: Information is not collected in the precise format requested. However, in 2006-07 the average amount spent per patient meal was £2.83. This amount includes the cost of provisions and staff costs. Patients are expected to receive three main meals a day and the average total daily cost of providing food for hospital patients can therefore be estimated to be £8.49.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the rates of antibiotic resistant infections in hospitals.

Ann Keen: We are continuing to build on the UK Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy and Action Plan which has three key interrelated elements: surveillance, prudent antimicrobial use and infection control. A copy has been placed in the Library. A number of our main activities are described as follows.
	Our programme to tackle health care associated infections has produced three annual decreases in reported Methicillin resistant  Staphylococcus aureus blood stream infections. However, we are continuing to develop our surveillance system, and publish the results to support local actions. We have introduced The Health Act 2006—Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections and developed the Saving Lives programme to help trusts improve infection control and prescribing. The latest version of Saving Lives includes a summary of best practice for antimicrobial prescribing which is available in the Library.
	We also run a national campaign to increase awareness of antibiotic resistance and have a scientific advisory committee, the Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection, to cover these issues.

Macular Degeneration: Drugs

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice is given by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to primary care trusts on the prescribing of the drug Lucentis to treat Macular Disease; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is currently appraising Lucentis (ranibizumab) and Macugen (pegaptanib) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. Final guidance to the national health service is expected in early 2008.

Marfan Syndrome

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to raise awareness of Marfan syndrome among medical professionals.

Ann Keen: The Clinical Knowledge Summaries database which is available at www.cks.library.nhs.uk/ specifically set-up to provide clinical information for health professionals and patients, contains information on the diagnosis and treatment of Marfan syndrome.

Maternity Services: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy periodically to review the funding of maternity services in those areas with live birth rates significantly above the national average; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Payment by Results is transforming the way key national health service services are funded by paying hospitals according to the number and complexity of cases treated. The tariff payment for births is therefore based on activity in a given area.

Maternity Services: Standards

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the quality of  (a) birth conditions and  (b) training opportunities provided by each type of childbirth unit.

Ann Keen: It would be for primary care trusts (PCTs) to make such assessments when deciding how best to commission maternity services for their resident populations. However, our policy, as laid out in 'Maternity Matters', published in April this year, is to encourage PCTs to allow mothers as much choice as possible as to where they wish to give birth.
	Maternity Matters also sets out clearly details about responsibilities for ensuring an adequate trained work force to provide maternity services while allowing mothers as much choice as possible.

NHS: Reorganisation

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  who has been invited to sit on the four national review groups contributing to Lord Darzi's review of the NHS;
	(2)  which patient groups will be involved in Lord Darzi's review of the NHS, including on the four national review groups on  (a) constitution,  (b) leadership,  (c) workforce/education and  (d) quality.

Ann Keen: Membership of the national working groups will be finalised shortly and details published. A wide range of stakeholder groups including patient groups will be involved in the groups and in other elements of the National Health Service Next Stage Review.

NHS: Waiting Lists

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the effect on NHS staff numbers in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008 of meeting the target that patients should not have to wait longer than 18 weeks for treatment.

Ann Keen: Service transformation, supported by the significant increase in the workforce since 1997, new ways of working and productivity gains, will enable 18 weeks to be delivered and sustained.

Nurses: Schools

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts (PCTs) have at least one full-time year round qualified school nurse for each cluster or group of primary schools and related secondary schools; which PCTs do not have such provision; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The following table shows the number of primary care trusts (PCTs) and trusts who employ qualified school nurses who hold the Nursing and Midwifery Council Specialist Practice Qualification with an outcome in school nursing.
	School nurses are generally employed by PCTs although some school nurses will be directly employed by both state and independent schools. The national health service workforce census does not capture these. A number of qualified school nurses will also work conterminously across PCTs boundaries but be directly employed by one single PCT.
	In 2006 there were 1,129 school nurses with a school nurse qualification. This is an increase of 31.9 per cent since 2004.
	
		
			  NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified school nurses( 1)  in England by strategic health authority area, by organisation and by contracted hours as at 30 September 2006 
			  H eadcount 
			   All staff  Full- time  Part- time  Bank 
			  England 1,129 223 886 20 
			  
			  North East Strategic Health Authority area 57 12 45 — 
			 City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust 17 6 11 — 
			 County Durham PCT 26 1 25 — 
			 Darlington PCT 2 — 2 — 
			 Gateshead PCT 2 1 1 — 
			 Northumberland Care Trust 8 2 6 — 
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT 2 2 — — 
			  
			  North West Strategic Health Authority area 223 39 181 3 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT 6 — 6 — 
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT 5 1 4 — 
			 Blackpool PCT 7 2 5 — 
			 Bolton PCT 31 6 25 — 
			 Bury PCT 17 2 15 — 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 11 — 11 — 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 8 1 7 — 
			 Cumbria PCT 38 5 33 — 
			 East Lancashire PCT 12 3 7 2 
			 Halton and St Helens PCT 9 1 8 — 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 12 5 7 — 
			 Knowsley PCT 1 1 — — 
			 North Lancashire PCT 5 — 3 — 
			 Oldham PCT 9 2 7 — 
			 Stockport PCT 1 — — 1 
			 Tameside and Glossop PCT 30 5 25 — 
			 The Wirral Hospital NHS Trust 12 2 10 — 
			 Warrington PCT 9 1 8 — 
			  
			  Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority area 204 39 165 — 
			 Barnsley PCT 13 5 8 — 
			 Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT 22 7 15 — 
			 Calderdale PCT 11 1 10 — 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire PCT 24 — 24 — 
			 Hull Teaching PCT 8 — 8 — 
			 Kirklees PCT 41 4 37 — 
			 Leeds PCT 47 12 35 — 
			 North Lincolnshire PCT 7 2  — 
			 North Yorkshire and York PCT 7 — 7 — 
			 Rotherham PCT 8 4 4 — 
			 Sheffield PCT 15 2 13 — 
			 Wakefield District PCT 1 — 1 — 
			  
			  East Midlands Strategic Health Authority area 45 10 34 1 
			 Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 1 1 — — 
			 Derby City PCT 4 4 — — 
			 Derbyshire County PCT 2 1 1  
			 Leicester City Teaching PCT 3 1 2 — 
			 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 4 1 3 — 
			 Northamptonshire Teaching PCT 29 1 28 — 
			 Nottinghamshire County Teaching PCT 2 1 — 1 
			  
			  West Midlands Strategic Health Authority area 133 31 102 — 
			 Birmingham East and North PCT 13 5 8 — 
			 Dudley PCT 1 — 1 — 
			 North Staffordshire PCT 13 4 9 — 
			 Shropshire County PCT 2 — 2 — 
			 South Staffordshire Healthcare NHS Trust 1 — 1  
			 South Staffordshire PCT 20 4 16 — 
			 Stoke on Trent Teaching PCT 30 10 20 — 
			 Walsall Teaching PCT 6 1 5 — 
			 Warwickshire PCT 23 6 17 — 
			 Wolverhampton City PCT 24 1 23 — 
			  
			  East of England Strategic Health Authority area 52 13 39 — 
			 Bedfordshire PCT 5 2 3 — 
			 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 1 1 — — 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 3 — 3 — 
			 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 4 — 4  
			 Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust 5 — 5 — 
			 Luton PCT 4 3 1 — 
			 Mid Essex PCT 12 1 11 — 
			 North East Essex PCT 2 1 1 — 
			 Peterborough PCT 1 — 1 — 
			 West Essex PCT 15 5 10 — 
			  
			  London Strategic Health Authority area 198 51 133 14 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 3 1 2  
			 Barnet PCT 1 — 1 — 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 29 6 23 — 
			 Bromley PCT 3 — — 3 
			 Camden PCT 1 1 — — 
			 City and Hackney PCT 3 2 1 — 
			 Ealing PCT 3 — 3 — 
			 Enfield PCT 2 — 2 — 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 21 — 21 — 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 13 10 3 — 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 3 3 —  
			 Havering PCT 15 1 14 — 
			 Islington PCT 3 2 1 — 
			 Kingston PCT 2 — 2 — 
			 Lambeth PCT 32 2 22 8 
			 Lewisham PCT 15 6 8 1 
			 Newham PCT 8 5 3 — 
			 Redbridge PCT 13 2 11 — 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 4 — 4 — 
			 Southwark PCT 11 7 2 2 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 2 — 2 — 
			 Wandsworth PCT 9 1 8 — 
			 Westminster PCT 2 2 — — 
			  
			  South East Coast Strategic Health Authority area 89 11 78 — 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 14 — 14 — 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent Teaching PCT 6 4 2 — 
			 Hastings and Rother PCT 15 3 12 — 
			 South Downs Health NHS Trust 1 1 — — 
			 Surrey PCT 12 1 11 — 
			 West Kent PCT 3 — 3 — 
			 West Sussex Teaching PCT 38 2 36 — 
			  
			  South Central Strategic Health Authority area 60 2 58 — 
			 Berkshire East Teaching PCT 16 1 15 — 
			 Berkshire West PCT 17 — 17 — 
			 Hampshire PCT 4 1 3 — 
			 Oxfordshire PCT 23 — 23 — 
			  
			  South West Strategic Health Authority area 68 15 51 2 
			 Bath and North East Somerset PCT 7 — 6 1 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 17 4 13 — 
			 Devon PCT 22 2 20 — 
			 Dorset PCT 7 2 5 — 
			 North Bristol NHS Trust 1 — — 1 
			 North Somerset PCT 1 1 — — 
			 Somerset PCT 3 1 2 — 
			 Torbay Care Trust 7 4 3 — 
			 United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust 3 1 2 — 
			 (1) Qualified school nurses hold the NMC specialist Practice Qualification with an outcome in school nursing—which is a recordable qualification on the NMC register.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care non—medical workforce census.

Nurses: Schools

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been made centrally available to meet the target of having a school nurse in each primary care trust by 2010; and how many school nurses and school health assistants were employed by each primary care trust in England in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: Central funding of £20 million was made available in 2006-07 and £22 million 2007-08.
	Tables showing the number of school nurses and school health assistants have been placed in the Library. School health assistants are included in levels one and two in the tables.

Organs: Donors

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are on the Register of Organ Donors.

Ann Keen: As of 27 November 2007, 14,875,956 people were registered on the Organ Donor Register. This represents around 24 per cent. of the population. Work continues to increase the number of individuals on the Organ Donor Register, with the aim of having 16 million people registered by 2010.

Ritalin: Children

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 837-8W to the hon. Member for Yeovil, on ritalin: children, if he will break down the number of children prescribed ritalin in each year since 1999 by primary care trust.

Ivan Lewis: Information is not available in the format requested.

Specialist Nurses

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to reimburse private employers for the cost of specialist nurse visits.

Ann Keen: The Department has no plans to reimburse private employers with the cost of specialist nurse visits. Local trusts are free to determine how these visits are funded.

Spinal Injuries

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the domestic heating needs of persons suffering from high lesion spinal cord injuries; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We have made no assessment of the domestic heating needs of those living with high lesion spinal cord injuries.

Suffolk NHS Trust: Manpower

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) doctors,  (b) nurses,  (c) dentists and  (d) non-medical staff were employed in Suffolk NHS Trust in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The information requested can be found in the following table.
	
		
			  National health service staff in the West Suffolk hospitals NHS trust by main staff group as at 30 September each specified year 
			  H eadcount 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006( 1) 
			 Total staff 2,596 3,073 3,140 3,068 2,825 
			 All Medical and Dental staff 215 240 274 283 285 
			 Medical staff 212 236 266 273 281 
			 Dental staff 3 4 8 10 4 
			 Total non-Medical staff 2,381 2,833 2,866 2,785 2,540 
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff 1,175 1,343 1,296 1,307 1,228 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 860 1,001 1,013 986 919 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 315 342 283 321 309 
			 Qualified Allied Health Professions 139 143 143 141 130 
			 Qualified Healthcare Scientists (ST) n/a n/a 62 67 70 
			 Other Qualified Scientific, therapeutic and technical staff (T) 176 199 78 113 109 
			 Support to clinical staff 834 965 1,005 971 863 
			 Support to doctors and nursing staff 770 888 839 835 745 
			 Support to ST and T staff 64 77 166 136 118 
			 NHS infrastructure support 372 525 565 507 449 
			 Central functions 112 112 111 99 100 
			 Hotel, property and estates 220 368 381 332 297 
			 Managers and senior managers 40 45 73 76 52 
			 n/a = not applicable. (1 )More accurate validation processes in 2006 have resulted in the identification and removal of 9,858 duplicate non-medical staff records out of the total workforce figure of 1.3 million in 2006. Earlier years figures could not be accurately validated in this way and so will be slightly inflated. The level of inflation in earlier years figures is estimated to be less than one per cent. of total across all non-medical staff groups for headcount figures (and negligible for full time equivalents). This should be taken into consideration when analysing trends over time.  Note: The numbers of healthcare scientists were not collected until 2004. Prior to this they were collected with other ST and T.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census. The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census.

Transplant Surgery: Waiting Lists

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are on a waiting list for a transplant of each type of organ in each primary care trust area.

Ann Keen: This information has been placed in the Library.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan Compact

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether an assessment has been made of the effectiveness of existing arrangements for the strategic co-ordination of the implementation of the Afghanistan Compact; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The UN and Afghan government co-chair the Joint Co-ordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB), which includes all the major donors. The JCMB was established to ensure benchmarks set in the Compact are met. We continue to support UN efforts to provide the necessary impetus to ensure the board remains responsive, effective and committed. The JCMB last met in Kabul on 3 October 2007 and will next meet in February 2008.

Ballistic Missile Defence

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government were contacted by the United States to request use of Menwith Hill as part of its missile defence system; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The request from the US to use RAF Menwith Hill as part of the US missile defence system was made in a letter to my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary on 29 June 2007.

Beijing: Olympic Games

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the freedoms that journalists are likely to have at the Beijing Olympics next year; what assessment he has made of whether such freedoms are likely to be in line with  (a) international norms and  (b) commitments made by China in the bidding process for the Olympic games; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We welcome the regulations implemented by the Chinese Government on 1 January, which lift restrictions on foreign correspondents in China up to and including the Olympics. We continue to urge China to make the regulations permanent, and to ensure greater media freedom, including for domestic journalists in line with international standards. My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Olympics and for London did so during her visit to Beijing from 11 to 15 November. The commitments made by Olympic hosts are a matter for the International Olympic Committee.

Bombs

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will call for a definition of cluster munitions to be banned under the Oslo process encompassing both dumb and smart cluster munitions.

Kim Howells: holding answer 3 December 2007
	There is no internationally agreed definition of a cluster munition, or of a distinction between "dumb" and "smart". A definition will be the key element to negotiate in any future instrument, both in the Oslo process and in the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. We believe the focus should be on banning those cluster munitions that pose the greatest risk to civilians: those without target discrimination or an in-built self-destruct/self-deactivation mechanism.

Burma: Human Rights

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation of the Karen people in Burma.

Meg Munn: We remain concerned about the situation in Karen State. Attacks carried out by the Burmese army on civilians in northern and western Karen State have been particularly intense over the past two years and have resulted in a significant increase in the number of internally displaced people and refugees on the Thai/Burmese border.
	We have repeatedly called for a halt to such offensives and have urged both the military regime and the Karen National Union to intensify their efforts to find a peaceful settlement that will bring about a permanent end to the conflict. We support Aung San Suu Kyi's statement of 8 November, released through the UN Secretary-General's special envoy, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, calling for a genuine national dialogue between the Government, Opposition parties and ethnic groups in Burma.

Burma: Sanctions

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2007,  Official Report, column 313W, on Burma: sanctions, when he expects the report by EU heads of missions in Rangoon requested by the presidency into sanctions on Burma to be complete.

David Miliband: We have asked the EU Presidency to expedite the report so it can be considered before the next EU General Affairs and External Relations Council due to take place on 10 December.

Christmas

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department and its agencies have spent on Christmas  (a) cards,  (b) parties and  (c) decorations in each of the last five years.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold dedicated accounts for official expenditure of this nature and the information requested by the hon. Member could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Colombia: Drugs

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department provided to the Colombian authorities for counter-narcotics operations in each year from 2004 to 2007; and what such assistance will be provided for 2008.

Kim Howells: Preventing the importation of cocaine into the UK from Colombia is a top priority for the UK's international counter-narcotics efforts. The UK works closely with the Colombian authorities to disrupt trafficking and to interdict consignments of illicit drugs.
	In the period 2004 to 2007, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has invested in various counter-narcotics projects in Colombia through its Global Opportunities Fund's Drugs and Crime Programme of some £1.5million. These projects have helped to build capacity among Colombian law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. Projects have covered subjects such as best practice in forensics, anti-money laundering and financial investigation techniques, judicial process and the provision of chemical analysis equipment at Colombian airports.
	The FCO has also supported drugs awareness campaigns in Colombian schools. In addition, Colombia has benefited from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's Latin American projects that the UK has co-funded to improve institutional capacity across the region.
	No decision has yet been made on what assistance might be provided for 2008.
	The UK does not work with Colombia in isolation. We take a broad regional approach to tackling the trade in illicit drugs, through a mixture of political engagement, capacity building and law enforcement support in producer, transit and consumer countries. This includes working with Governments of other producer and transit countries in Latin America, as well as with Governments in countries along the main trafficking routes for drugs from Latin America (especially via the Caribbean and West Africa).

Democratic Republic of Congo: Sanctions

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the implementation of European Union sanctions on Democratic Republic of Congo, with particular reference to the UK's compliance; what the total amount of assets frozen is by  (a) EU member states and  (b) the United Kingdom in line with these sanctions; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The UK is firmly committed to the full implementation of all EU sanctions, along with our EU partners.
	EU member states do not systematically share detailed information concerning the value of funds they have identified and frozen. However, they are legally obliged to freeze all funds and economic resources belonging to persons and entities listed under the sanctions regime. It is prohibited to make funds or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to these persons and entities.
	The reported balance of UK frozen funds in relation to UN and EU sanctions on the Democratic Republic of Congo amounts to £4,721.00.

Departmental Labour Turnover

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the percentage turnover of staff was in  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's agencies in (i) the last 12-month period and (ii) the last 24-month period for which figures are available.

Meg Munn: Over the 12 months to 1 November 2007, the number of UK-based civil servants employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) fell from 6,135 to 6,104. During this period 475 staff left the FCO. This represents 7.8 per cent. of the average work force over the period.
	Over the 24 months to 1 November 2007, the number of UK-based civil servants fell from 6,108 to 6,104. During this period 980 staff left the FCO. This represents 16 per cent. of the average work force over the period.
	All these figures include staff working in FCO Services and Wilton Park, the two executive agencies of the FCO. We are not able to calculate staff turnover for these two agencies separately from the FCO totals.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisors

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the office costs for his Department's special advisers for 2007-08 are expected to be, including costs of support staff; and how many full-time equivalent civil servants work in support of such special advisers.

David Miliband: The code of conduct for special advisers states that
	"In order to enable special advisers to work effectively, Departments may allocate permanent civil servants to provide support of a non-political nature".
	Two civil servants provide full-time support to the special advisers. Office costs will be accounted for in the 2007-08 departmental annual report and accounts.

Departmental Public Expenditure

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Winter Supplementary Estimates (HC 29), if he will break down his Department's  (a) main estimate and  (b) winter supplementary estimate provision by subhead in (i) near cash and (ii) non-cash terms.

David Miliband: In the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Main Estimate 2007-08, all subheads are near cash with the exception of Al and F2. The subhead A1 consists of £798,280,000 near cash and £156,719,000 non-cash. The subhead F2 of £50,000,000 is completely non-cash. The total non-cash element is £206,719,000. The total non-cash figure can be found in the Part II: Resource to cash reconciliation table in the main estimate, it is the figure shown as "Total accruals to cash adjustments" (£206,719,000).
	Similarly, in the FCO's winter supplementary estimate 2007-08, all subheads are near cash with the exception of A1 and F2. The subhead A1 consists of £815,302,000 near cash and £156,719,000 non-cash. The subhead F2 of £50,000,000 is completely non-cash. Total non-cash expenditure is unchanged from the main estimate at £206,719,000.
	Please note that data taken from supply estimates or resource accounts are not necessarily readily compatible with a near-cash/non-cash split, which is used only within the departmental expenditure limit budgetary controls applied by HM Treasury.

Iran: Sanctions

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stroud of 14 November 2007,  Official Report, column 318W, on Iran: sanctions, which EU working groups will be considering further sanctions measures against Iran before the December General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Discussions on further EU measures against Iran would be carried out in the Political and Security Committee and the working group covering the Middle East, the Committee on the Middle East and Gulf (COMEM) reinforced by non-proliferation experts from the Committee on Non-Proliferation (CONOP).

Iraq: Resettlement

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Iraqi civilians have worked for the British Government since the invasion of Iraq in 2003; how many of these were contracted for a period of  (a) less than six months,  (b) six to 12 months and  (c) 12 months or more; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Many thousands of Iraqis have worked for the Government since 2003. They have worked for the Government either directly or via contractors. Information on the length of service of the employees is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Papua: Human Rights

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what recent representations he has made to the Government of Indonesia on the situation in West Papua;
	(2)  if he will make representations to the government of Indonesia on upholding the right to freedom of expression and assembly in West Papua.

Meg Munn: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed Papua with the Indonesian Government. However, I met the governor of Papua, Barnabus Suebo, when he visited London on 25 October. We discussed the situation in Papua, including human rights and the implementation of the Special Autonomy Law. Our embassy in Jakarta regularly discusses human rights issues, including in Papua, with the Indonesian Government. The human rights situation in Indonesia has improved considerably in recent years, and President Yudhoyono is continuing efforts to push through reforms, including to the security sector. We will continue to raise these issues with the Indonesian Government.

MI6

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the work and function of the IOps section of MI6.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Member for Derby, South (Margaret Beckett), the then Foreign Secretary gave to him on 14 July 2006,  Official Report, column 2138W.

Nuclear Disarmament

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason the Government voted against the resolution on decreasing the operational readiness of nuclear weapons in the United Nations First Committee on Disarmament.

Kim Howells: The United Kingdom provided an 'Explanation of Vote' (EoV) in a statement to the United Nations First Committee. This noted that we do not subscribe to the basic premise of the resolution that the world is at risk due to large numbers of nuclear weapons at dangerously high levels of alert. A copy of the EoV will be placed in the Library of the House.

Occupied Territories: Armed Conflict

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions  (a) he,  (b) Ministers in his Department and  (c) officials in his Department have had with the Government of Israel on rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Government have discussed the continued firing of rockets by Palestinian militants from Gaza into Israel with the Israeli Government on numerous occasions, and most recently during the visit of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 17-19 November.
	Over 1,000 Qassam rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israeli targets since Hamas seized control of Gaza on 14 June 2007, wounding a number of Israelis. It has also caused damage to infrastructure. We continue to call for an immediate halt to these attacks, which target civilians and only escalate an already tense situation. While acknowledging Israel's right to defend itself, we call on Israel to show restraint in the face of these attacks and make clear that any response must be in accordance with international law.

Pakistan: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to discuss the situation in Pakistan with his ASEAN counterparts; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We continue to engage in on-going dialogue with our Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) partners, most recently with the attendance of my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at the EU-ASEAN summit on 22 November.
	I have discussed the situation with EU colleagues and other international partners, including most recently Commonwealth partners on 22 November. We continue to urge the Pakistani Government to implement the necessary conditions to guarantee free and fair elections on schedule in January 2008, release all political prisoners and lift all remaining media restrictions.

Russia: Elections

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Russia with reference to  (a) the recent changes to the electoral system and  (b) the number of election monitors from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 3 December 2007
	Russia introduced substantial changes to the electoral system, including increases to both the minimum vote threshold from 5 to 7 per cent. and the minimum size of parties, claiming that changes are necessary to increase parties' authority and develop stronger multi-party governance. But we are concerned that such changes may in fact hinder such developments.
	At the recent EU-Russia Human Rights Consultations the EU expressed concerns regarding the amendment to the election law regarding the registration of candidates and parties and domestic observation of elections.
	There were no election monitors from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) specialist election monitoring agency, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, present during the parliamentary elections. Members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly did observe the election, but no British parliamentarians were among them. 51 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, including three British parliamentarians, also observed the election.

Russia: Elections

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent  (a) discussions he has had with and  (b) representations he has made to the Russian Government on (i) independent monitoring of the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Russia and (ii) the treatment of Opposition parties in Russia.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 3 December 2007
	The Government have made no direct approaches to the Russian Government on either issue, instead supporting fully the EU presidency statements on independent monitoring of parliamentary elections and the treatment of Opposition parties, which urged Russia to allow its citizens freedom of expression and demanding that the elections be free and fair. I discussed this with partners in the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe at the Ministerial Council in Madrid on 29 November and separately with the Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Ambassador Strohal. We fully support ODIHR's decision to withdraw from election monitoring in the face of significant obstruction from the Russian Government.

Russia: Nuclear Forces Treaty

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is his policy to seek the widening of the intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty to include countries other than the US and Russia; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The Government welcome the US and Russian statements on their confirmed commitment to the intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty. We also note with interest the proposal that the regime be widened, and look forward to more detailed proposals from Russia.

Serbia: Sanctions

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the implementation of European Union sanctions on  (a) Serbia and  (b) Montenegro, with particular reference to the UK's compliance; what the total amount of assets frozen is by (i) EU member states and (ii) the United Kingdom in line with these sanctions; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The UK is firmly committed to the full implementation of all EU sanctions, along with our EU partners.
	There are no EU financial sanctions imposed on Serbia or Montenegro. EU Common Positions 2000/696/Common Foreign and Security Policy and 2004/6947 Common Foreign and Security Policy and imposed an asset freeze on former President Milosevic and natural persons associated with him and individuals indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. To date no funds have been identified in the UK.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

East of England Brussels Office: Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the expenditure of the East of England Brussels Office was in the last year for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: The expenditure of the East of England Brussels office, in the last year for which figures are readily available, was £321,740. This relates to the financial year 2003-04.

EU Trade: Huddersfield

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many jobs in Huddersfield he estimates are dependent on  (a) exports and  (b) investment from other EU member states.

Stephen Timms: No such estimates have been made.
	In the year ended March 2007, HM Revenue and Customs recorded exports from Yorkshire and The Humber to the EU totalling £7.2 billion out of a total export figure of £12.3 billion for the region. Exports to the EU, therefore, accounted for 59 per cent. of the total. This excludes exports of services and lower value exports, which are not recorded by HM Revenue and Customs.
	The number of companies in the region exporting to the EU in the year 2006 has been recorded by HM Revenue and Customs as 1,717. Since the Intrastat survey covers only the largest traders, the total actually exporting is likely to be much higher. The number of companies in the region exporting anywhere in the same period was recorded as 5,589, though as it included the 1,717 exporting to the EU it, too, is likely to be an underestimate of the true position.
	On foreign direct investment, there are 595 EU-owned companies in Yorkshire and The Humber, of which 62 are based in Huddersfield. Over 1,700 new or safeguarded jobs were generated by new companies investing in Yorkshire and The Humber during 2006-07. Of this figure, investment by companies based in other EU states contributed 202 jobs.

Flexible Working

Patricia Hewitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to encourage fathers of young children to take advantage of the right to request flexible working;
	(2)  how many  (a) women and  (b) men have exercised their right to request flexible working on the grounds of being a carer;
	(3)  how many  (a) women and  (b) men have taken advantage of the right to request flexible working on the basis of having a young child.

Patrick McFadden: The Government encourage all types of flexible working for both fathers and mothers by providing detailed guidance, promoting the benefits and encouraging the sharing of best practice. Employees and employers can also access advice from the ACAS website and telephone helpline.
	The right to request flexible working was extended to carers of adults in April this year. The Department's estimate was that the right would be additionally available to about 2.65 million employees with caring responsibilities but, given the very recent introduction of the right, no research has yet been carried out into the take-up. The Department does, however, have in place a strategy for monitoring the law and the impact of the extension of it to carers. In 2008, for example, an employee omnibus survey is planned which will identify adults with caring responsibilities and look at what impact the law has had on them.
	The Third Work Life Balance survey of employees (report available at: http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file38388.pdf) provides the most up-to-date data on employee take-up of flexible working. It shows that, over the two-year period of the survey, 38 per cent. of mothers and 11 per cent. of fathers of children below the age of six had made a request to change how they regularly worked.

Parental Leave

Patricia Hewitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department is taking to encourage fathers of young children to exercise their right to parental leave.

Patrick McFadden: The Government encourage awareness of all leave entitlements—including parental leave—by providing detailed guidance to employees and employers through a variety of channels, including DBERR, Direct.gov.uk and BusinessLink.gov.uk websites, as well as via the ACAS helpline. The Department's guidance on rights to paternity leave and pay also includes a summary of other entitlements for which fathers may be eligible, including parental leave.

Parental Leave

Patricia Hewitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many men have exercised their right to take paid paternity leave in the last three years; and what proportion of eligible men this figure represented in each year.

Patrick McFadden: The most recent estimates of take-up of paternity leave are based on the Maternity and Paternity Rights and Benefits in Britain: Survey of Parents, conducted in 2005. The survey is based on a random sample of mothers who had a baby in December 2003 and their partners.
	93 per cent. of fathers surveyed took some time off around the time of the birth. Of these, 79 per cent. took at least some statutory paternity leave. The Government estimate that around 400,000 fathers are eligible for the entitlement.

Post Offices: Closures

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform for what reasons he has instructed Post Office Ltd. not to make announcements on proposed post office closures during the period 2 April to 1 May 2008 in areas which have no local elections on 1 May 2008.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 29 November 2007
	 Due to the application of normal purdah procedures which apply during election periods, no public consultations will take place and no network change announcements will be made between 7 April and 2 May next year.
	The spread of local authority elections to be held on 1 May 2008 in England and Wales means that all area plans for England and Wales cover at least one local authority holding elections on 1 May 2008. It would not be practical to try to subdivide area plans between local authorities with and without local elections due next May and work to separate timetables. Where no local elections are scheduled for next May, as in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the timing of local consultations and announcements of final decisions will not be affected.

Post Offices: Closures

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when the findings of the consultation on proposed post office closures in west Suffolk will be published.

Patrick McFadden: I understand that Post Office Ltd. expects to announce final decisions on its area plan proposals for post office closures and new outreach services in Norfolk and west Suffolk in late June 2008.

Post Offices: Opening Hours

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what representations he has made to Post Office Limited in respect of  (a) sub and  (b) Crown Post Office branches' opening hours during the period 27 December to 31 December 2007.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Royal Mail: EU Law

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment his Department has made of European Court of Justice case C-357/07, 2007/C 247/15, with particular reference to the implications for the future of the Royal Mail's scope of operations.

Patrick McFadden: VAT is a matter for HM Treasury though I can confirm that the Government believe that the current VAT treatment of postal services is fully consistent with European VAT law.
	Royal Mail no longer has a statutory monopoly in the UK postal services sector. The UK's mail market has been fully opened up to competition since 1 January 2006.

Small Businesses: Carbon Emissions

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the London low emission zone on small and medium-sized businesses; and what discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on that effect.

Stephen Timms: The powers to implement a Low Emission Zone in London rest with the Mayor and the London boroughs, rather than central Government. An economic and business impact assessment has been published by Transport for London. My Department has not prepared its own impact assessment nor have I met the Mayor to discuss this issue.

Trade Unions: Regional Development Agencies

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what procedures his Department uses to select trade union representatives appointed to regional development agencies.

Stephen Timms: All RDA board members are appointed by the Secretary of State following a recruitment process which meets the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointment's (OCPA) code. Initially, a detailed specification for each role is drawn up and agreed with the Minister of State for Competitiveness and the OCPA-appointed independent assessor, following a wide consultation process both nationally and regionally with stakeholders, including TUC.
	Applications are sifted against the essential criteria set out in the specification and those satisfying the criteria are considered by a panel consisting of the Government Office Regional Director, the RDA Chair and an OCPA independent assessor for interview. Once interviewed, details of candidates who are found suitable for appointment are forwarded to regional Ministers for advice and then forwarded to the Minister of State for Competitiveness to decide whom to appoint.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Care Homes: Children

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how often  (a) local authority children's homes and  (b) privately run children's homes are required to be inspected.

Kevin Brennan: Local authority children's homes and privately run children's homes are currently required to be inspected no less than twice in every 12-month period, in line with the provisions of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills (Fees and Frequency of Inspections) (Children's Homes etc.) Regulations 2007.

Children: Databases

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps are being taken to ensure the security of the Contact Point database.

Kevin Brennan: As soon as we were made aware of the loss of data from HMRC, we made contact with the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre to identify any potential children's welfare issues. As child safety and welfare issues are an absolute priority for us, we are maintaining close contact with the agencies involved to ensure that we all remain vigilant to any child welfare issues that may arise.
	On Tuesday 20 November my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State asked the Department's Permanent Secretary to conduct an immediate assessment of how personal data is stored and protected in the Department. The Permanent Secretary reported back within 24 hours to confirm the Department is confident that we have very robust procedures in place. In light of the security breach at the HMRC, we are continuing to check our procedures to ensure standards are as high as they can be. On Wednesday 21 November, the Prime Minister confirmed this approach when he asked all Departments to check their procedures for the storage and use of data. Given the obvious importance of ensuring that ContactPoint has extremely robust security measures in place, on Tuesday 20 November, the Secretary of State also asked for an independent assessment of ContactPoint's security procedures. This will be conducted by Deloitte.
	Security is, and always has been, of paramount importance to the ContactPoint project and we are mindful that the Data Protection Act 1998 requires that the level of technical and organisational security must be appropriate.
	In line with best practice, ContactPoint will be routinely backed up. This will be done only by specifically identified system operators within Capgemini, with whom we have contracted for the build and initial host of ContactPoint. Two Capgemini staff will have to be present when back-ups take place. This dual control is considered best practice. The backup tapes will be encrypted, protected with a strong (complex) password and stored in a fire-proof safe in a secure room. The limited number of Capgemini staff who do have access to this data must have enhanced CRB clearance.
	There is no facility that would allow users to copy personal identifiable information to a file, other than when files need to be backed up as indicated in the last paragraph. The vast majority of users will only be able to view child data on the screen—they will not be able to extract files in a personally identifiable form. A very limited number of people will be able to extract identifiable data, one record at a time, from ContactPoint in order to meet legal requirements as set out in The Children Act 2004 Information Database (England) Regulations 2007, including responding to subject access requests. There is a clear right under the Data Protection Act 1998 for children and young people (or their parents or carers when acting appropriately on their behalf) to have access to their information on ContactPoint and for it to be corrected if it is found to be inaccurate.
	A very limited number of people in local authorities and the national ContactPoint team will be able to run reports to, for example, produce aggregated data or support data quality checks. These reports will be in an anonymised form and will not contain personally identifiable data. The only exception to this is a report produced to support local authorities in their duty to identify children who are missing education. The information provided in this report is restricted by regulations and can only contain child name, address, date of birth, unique identifying number, parent/carer contact details and the details of start and end dates for educational institutions attended by the child or young person.
	Access to ContactPoint will be strictly limited to those who need it to do their job and who will be subject to stringent security controls. Before being granted access, all users will have completed mandatory face-to-face training, have security clearance (including enhanced Criminal Records Bureau clearance) and have a user name, a password, a PIN and a security token to access ContactPoint. Mandatory face-to-face training will include the safe and secure use of ContactPoint and the importance of compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Human Rights Act 1998.
	To gain access to a child's record, all users will have to state clear reasons why they are accessing ContactPoint, and all use of the system will be monitored and audited. Every access to a child's record will be detailed in the ContactPoint audit trail. This will be regularly monitored by local authorities, using on-line user activity reports, to ensure that any misuse is detected.

Departmental Computers

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many of his Department's  (a) computers and  (b) laptops have been stolen in 2007; and what the value of those items was.

Kevin Brennan: The information is as follows.
	 (a) No computers have been stolen from DCSF in the year 2007.
	 (b) Four departmental laptops have been stolen from home premises in the year 2007, none from DCSF premises.
	The value of the items stolen amounts to £3,560.00 (the value for each of these is £890 (cost price for last purchase in January 2007).

Departmental Data Protection

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what reviews have been undertaken of his Department's rules on data protection in the last two years; if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the last review of his Department's compliance with data protection laws; and if  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's agencies will undertake a review of their compliance with data protection laws.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review,

Departmental Data Protection

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many employees of each grade in his Department  (a) have access to confidential or sensitive data and  (b) are authorised to download such data to disk; how many of his Department's employees have undergone data protection training in the last 12 months; what the average length of time is that each employee of his Department has spent on data protection training; how many investigations of employees of his Department for improperly accessing confidential information have taken place in the last 12 months; how many such investigations resulted in cases of disciplinary action; and what the circumstances of each of those cases were.

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many requests his Department received from the National Audit Office for access to databases containing personal information on members of the general public in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what mechanisms his Department has in place to ensure that databases containing personal information on members of the general public are not accessed  (a) by unauthorised staff and  (b) by authorised staff for unauthorised purposes;
	(3)  how many electronic databases held by his Department contain  (a) names,  (b) addresses,  (c) bank details and  (d) other personal information on members of the general public.
	(4)  how many times databases held by his Department and containing personal information on members of the general public were accessed in each month of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Members to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1179, The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.

Departmental Foreign Workers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) EU foreign nationals and  (b) non-EU foreign nationals are employed by his Department.

Kevin Brennan: The information about EU and non EU foreign nationals could be obtained only in the form requested at disproportionate cost. All potential new appointments to the Department for Children, Schools and Families are subject to nationality, passport, proof of identity and reference checks before contracts of employment are issued.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what changes were made to his Department's upper pay spine as part of the Spending Review 2004 efficiency programme.

Kevin Brennan: The pay of senior civil servants is centrally controlled by Cabinet Office. For departmental staff, we operate a pay system with a pay minima and maxima for each grade and progression to the maxima based on performance. The 2004 pay band maxima were agreed as part of a multi year pay deal covering 2003 to 2005 with the payband maxima increasing by 2 per cent. in each year.

Free School Meals

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of pupils were entitled to free school meals in each school in each year since 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to my reply given on 19 November 2007,  Official Report, column 632W.

GCSE

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether it is his policy to retain  (a) GCSE and  (b) A-level qualifications.

Jim Knight: GGSEs and A-levels are long-established and valued qualifications. The Government believe that their future should be decided by the demands of young people, schools and colleges. The review which we have announced for 2013 will consider the evidence and experience following the introduction of Diplomas and the implementation of changes to A-level and GCSE, with a view to reaching conclusions about how in practice the overall offer meets the needs of young people in progressing to further study and employment.

Gifted and Talented Programme

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of students in each London borough were on the gifted and talented programme in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the proportion of students identified as gifted and talented by maintained primary and secondary schools for each London borough as at January 2007.
	
		
			  London borough  Percentage 
			 City of London 0.0 
			 Camden 8.7 
			 Greenwich 8.3 
			 Hackney 10.8 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 10.6 
			 Islington 8.5 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 14.1 
			 Lambeth 9.1 
			 Lewisham 5.2 
			 Southwark 6.9 
			 Tower Hamlets 8.6 
			 Wandsworth 11.7 
			 Westminster 10.6 
			 Barking and Dagenham 4.7 
			 Barnet 5.6 
			 Bexley 12.3 
			 Brent 7.8 
			 Bromley 11.2 
			 Croydon 4.9 
			 Ealing 8.3 
			 Enfield 11.1 
			 Haringey 8.2 
			 Harrow 7.6 
			 Havering 14.3 
			 Hillingdon 8.8 
			 Hounslow 10.9 
			 Kingston upon Thames 9.5 
			 Merton 6.4 
			 Newham 8.3 
			 Redbridge 10.4 
			 Richmond upon Thames 9.4 
			 Sutton 9.3 
			 Waltham Forest 10.9

Languages: GCSE

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made in reviewing the standards of GCSE modern language examinations and their level of difficulty in comparison with other GCSE examinations; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Lord Dearing's Languages Review, published in March 2007, identified the need to resolve the widely held perception that languages GCSEs are harder than other subjects. This is a matter for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) which, as qualifications regulator, has responsibility for ensuring consistent standards in GCSE. Following the Languages Review, the Secretary of State asked QCA to investigate this matter and report back to him. We expect to receive QCA's report in the near future.

Pupil Exclusions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many pupils who were given a permanent exclusion were sent to another mainstream school in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many pupils who were given a permanent exclusion were sent to a Pupil Referral Unit in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: Information on the number of permanently excluded pupils who are sent to a maintained school can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the number of permanently excluded pupils who are sent to a Pupil Referral Unit is not available.

Pupil Exclusions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many children readmitted to school by an independent appeals panel after expulsion were expelled again within  (a) one year,  (b) two years and  (c) five years in each relevant period since 1997;
	(2)  how many children who won their independent appeals panel hearing against exclusion were readmitted to the school from which they had been excluded in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many children who won their independent appeals panel hearing against exclusion and were readmitted to the same school were subsequently permanently excluded in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(4)  how many children who won their independent appeals panel hearing against exclusion and were readmitted to the same school were subsequently given a fixed period exclusion in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(5)  how many children readmitted to school after permanent exclusion were permanently excluded again within  (a) one year,  (b) two years and  (c) five years in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: Information on pupils who have successfully appealed their exclusion and then go on to be excluded (either permanently or for a fixed period) is not available centrally.

Pupil Exclusions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils received more than one fixed term exclusion in the latest period for which figures are available, broken down by reason of exclusion.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Pupils: Transport

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what transport support provision is available for journeys from home to school or college for students in further education in each London borough; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: From 1 September 2006 Transport for London introduced free travel concession on buses and trams for under 18s who are attending a full-time education course. The concession expires at the end of the academic year in which the student turns 18.

Religion: Curriculum

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department has taken to improve the way that faith and culture are addressed through the national curriculum as recommended in the Preventing Extremism Together report.

Jim Knight: As recommended by Sir Keith Ajegbo a new strand of citizenship education entitled 'Identity and Diversity: Living Together in the UK' has been made part of the national curriculum which will be rolled out in secondary schools from September 2008 onwards. Identity and diversity also is a cross-cutting theme across the whole revised curriculum and provides schools with the opportunity to teach pupils about the connections between the diverse cultures and communities in the UK.
	In addition, the national framework for religious education has been incorporated into the revised secondary curriculum. The framework places inclusion, tolerance, diversity and interfaith dialogue at the heart of children's learning. A regional training programme to support schools in delivering the new curriculum is being rolled out from January 2008.

School Leaving

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will publish the review commissioned by his Department of existing evidence on the merits of raising the education participation age to 18 years.

Jim Knight: The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) were commissioned, by the Department, in May 2007 to undertake an independent external review of existing national and international evidence to explore the likely impact, benefits and challenges associated with raising the education and training participation age to 18. The report from this review of evidence is being published on 29 November 2007.

School Leaving

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what changes will be made to the eligibility criteria for education maintenance allowances when the raising of the participation age is implemented.

Jim Knight: We made clear in the document "Raising Expectations; staying in education and training post-16—from policy to legislation", that financial constraints should not be a barrier to participation and that we will look at the structure of financial support to make sure it continues to be as effective as possible. This will include looking at a variety of options to ensure that financial support for learning is restructured in the most effective way to ensure young people are enabled to participate. In doing this we will build on the foundation of the educational maintenance allowance, and the views we gathered in the public consultation on 'supporting young people to achieve'.

Schools: Admissions

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children living in each local education authority area attended a maintained school in a different local authority area in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The requested information was published on 27 September 2007 in the Statistical First Release "Schools and Pupils in England: January 2007 (Final)".
	The SFR is available at:
	www dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000744/index.shtml
	Copies of the relevant tables have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Teachers

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will publish research his Department has completed into teachers' workload in the last five years.

Jim Knight: All external research commissioned by the Department for Children, Schools and Families is published as a matter of course. The Department has not completed any research that specifically looks at teacher workload in the last five years as the Office of Manpower Economics (OME) conduct and publish a survey on teacher workload to inform the work of the School Teachers' Review Body. Over last five years OME have conducted their survey in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, the results from the 2004 survey onwards can be found at:
	http://www.ome.uk.com/review.cfm?body=7

Departmental Staff

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many staff of the former Department for Education and Skills are employed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Kevin Brennan: The Department came into being with the Machinery of Government changes of 28 June 2007 with 2,890 staff from the former Department for Education and Skills now employed at the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Teenage Pregnancy: Housing

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pregnant teenagers under the age of 18 were being housed in  (a) bed and breakfast accommodation and  (b) hostels for single homeless adults in each local authority area, in the latest period for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Bristol International Airport

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department plans to carry out an area action plan on Bristol International Airport.

Iain Wright: It is for North Somerset council to carry out an area action plan on Bristol International Airport as part of their local development framework.
	North Somerset council intend to timetable work on such a plan to coincide with the review of Bristol International Airport's own airport masterplan, which is likely to be reviewed in 2011.

Departmental Data Protection

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what mechanisms her Department has in place to ensure that databases containing personal information on members of the general public are not accessed  (a) by unauthorised staff and  (b) by authorised staff for unauthorised purposes;
	(2)  how many requests her Department received from the National Audit Office for access to databases containing personal information on members of the general public in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how many times her Department's databases containing personal information on members of the general public were accessed in each month of the last five years;
	(4)  how many staff of each grade in her Department have access to electronic databases which contain personal information on members of the general public;
	(5)  how many security breaches regarding access to personal data occurred within her Department in each year since 1997;
	(6)  when each electronic database held by her Department containing personal information on members of the general public was first created;
	(7)  how many electronic databases containing  (a) names,  (b) addresses,  (c) bank details and  (d) other personal information of members of the general public are held by her Department;
	(8)  how many times electronic data containing personal information on members of the public have been transferred  (a) physically and  (b) electronically between her Department and another body in each year since 1997.

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 requiring investigation there have been in the last five years in her Department; what the nature such breaches were; and what the results of the investigations were in each case.

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions the Information Commissioner was contacted by her Department to report breaches of data protection security in each of the last five years.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to review how her Department transports data; and whether her Department uses TNT to transport data.

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many confirmed data security breaches there have been in her Department in the last 36 months; and what action was taken after each occurrence.

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many items of post sent by her Department and its predecessors were reported missing by the intended recipient in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what steps her Department has taken to protect the personal data on members of the public which it holds.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Members to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.

Departmental Labour Turnover

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the percentage turnover of staff was in  (a) her Department and  (b) her Department's agencies in (i) the last 12-month period and (ii) the last 24-month period for which figures are available.

Parmjit Dhanda: In the 12 months to 31 March 2007, the percentage staff turnover in Communities and Local Government was 22 per cent. In the 24 months to 31 March 2007, staff turnover was 36 per cent.
	Turnover has been calculated on a headcount basis as the number of leavers over the period expressed as a proportion of the staff in post at the start of the period. The figures include Communities staff working in the Government Office network. Information for Executive agencies is not held centrally.

Departmental Publications

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library copies of the in-house staff magazine of her Department from the last 12 months.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department for Communities and Local Government was created on 5 May 2006. Copies of every issue of the Department's staff magazine have been placed in the Library of the House.

Empty Property

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will announce her conclusions and intentions in response to the consultation on modernising empty property relief.

Iain Wright: Following consideration of responses to the consultation document "Modernising Empty Property Relief", we intend to announce our decisions on the future exemptions from reformed empty property rates and on proposed new anti-avoidance regulations later in the year.

Energy: Conservation

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) enforcement notices have been served and  (b) prosecutions have been brought as a result of non-compliance with the energy efficiency requirements in Part L of the Building Regulations in each year since 2002.

Iain Wright: Enforcement of compliance with the Building Regulations is undertaken by local authorities. There is no central register of enforcement notices served or prosecutions brought. In the main, local authorities aim to resolve issues that arise through inspection of and advice to those undertaking work. Enforcement notices and prosecution are only used as a last resort.

EU Grants and Loans

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  if she will set out her response to the concerns of the European Commission which have led to the suspension of European Regional Development Fund funding in  (a) the west midlands,  (b) London and  (c) the north West; and what steps she is taking to tackle the concerns;
	(2)  how much European Regional Development Fund funding is suspended by the European Union in relation to  (a) the west midlands,  (b) the north west and  (c) London;
	(3)  when she expects the suspension of European Regional Development Fund funding in  (a) the west midlands,  (b) the north west and  (c) London to be lifted.

John Healey: holding answer 13 November 2007
	The suspension of ERDF payments stems from specific concerns identified by the Commission in the level of on-site project monitoring. The Government have carried out intensive work to increase the level of checks and strengthen reporting. Each affected region is being assessed individually by the Commission and as a result the suspensions have now been lifted in the west midlands, northeast, Yorkshire and The Humber, northwest objective 1, and Peterborough. A total of £243 million in ERDF payments was held back for those regions by the Commission, and payments have now been fully resumed. We are waiting to hear about the lifting of the suspensions of payments for London. In the case of the northwest objective 2 programme we are carrying out urgent further work to re-assure the Commission before a final decision is taken.
	The European Commission is currently holding back around £7 million in relation to the London objective 2 and Stockwell urban programmes and around £19 million in relation to the north-west objective 2 and Burnley urban programmes.

Fire Services: Consultants

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on consultants' fees for the Firelink project to date, broken down by consultancy.

Parmjit Dhanda: For the period August 2002 to October 2007 the individual costs of consultancies used by the Firelink project are:
	
		
			  Consultancy  Costs (£000) 
			 Mott MacDonald Ltd. 19,500 
			 BOS consulting Ltd. 6 
			 Bourton Group Ltd. 27 
			 Denton Wilde Sapte 882 
			 Ernst and Young LLP 1,044 
			 Gardiner and Theobald 20 
			 Hedra plc 75 
			 Hudson Global Resources 632 
			 INOVEM Ltd. 8 
			 Keymedia Design Ltd. 7 
			 Malcolm Hutchinson Associates Ltd. 6 
			 Mouchel Parkman Services Ltd. 274 
			 Office of Government Commerce 147 
			 PA Consulting 19 
			 PKF 2 
			 QuinetiQ 15 
			 SERCO 137 
			 Willis Ltd. 18

Fire Services: Finance

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total cost of the FiReControl project team has been to date including  (a) staffing costs,  (b) secondment costs,  (c) payments made by fire authorities under the new burdens principle and  (d) travel costs.

Parmjit Dhanda: To the end of October 2007 the cost (net of receipts) for the National FiReControl Team was £42,011,903. This figure includes  (a) £5,767,265 staffing (including civil servants, interim and agency staff),  (b) secondments at £4,394,071 and  (c) travel costs at £813,603.
	In addition, we have made payments to local authorities under the new burdens principles of £19,054,757.

Fire Services: Finance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on the  (a) staffing costs,  (b) secondment costs,  (c) payments made to fire consultancies under the new burdens principle,  (d) travel costs and  (e) other costs of the FireLink project team.

Parmjit Dhanda: The following table sets out the Firelink project costs under the requested headings for the period August 2002 to October 2007. Project management costs are met in part by the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government.
	
		
			   £ million 
			  (a) Staffing costs 3.44 
			  (b) Secondment costs 2.6 
			  (c) Payments made to fire consultancies under the new burdens principles, presuming this is meant to indicate payments to Fire and Rescue Authorities 0 
			  (d) Travel costs 0.71 
			  (e) Other costs of the Fire Link National Project Team 6.26

Haven Gateway Partnership

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings  (a) she and  (b) her officials have had with (i) Haven Gateway Partnership and (ii) lobbyists engaged by Haven Gateway Partnership in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: My right hon. Friend has not had any meetings with the Haven Gateway Partnership or their lobbyists in the last 12 months. Communities and Local Government officials have met with members of the Haven Gateway Partnership and some of their stakeholders in January 2007 and with representatives from Colchester borough council in July 2007. In addition, officials from the Government Office for the east of England meet with the Haven Gateway Partnership on a regular basis in support of their growth ambitions, as they do with all New Growth Point areas in their region. There have been no meetings between officials and lobbyists.

Housing: Construction

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of new builds in  (a) Uxbridge constituency,  (b) each London borough and  (c) England were built on (i) previously developed land and (ii) back gardens in the last five years.

Iain Wright: The following table shows statistics on the percentage of dwellings built on previously-developed ("brownfield") land and on previously-residential land.
	There is no direct indicator which can be used to determine how many dwellings have been built on back gardens. The Land Use Change Statistics dataset contains information on changes in land use in England and is used to answer questions on this topic. In this dataset, land use is divided into 24 categories. However, gardens, patios, garages and other cartilage as well as dwellings themselves are all classified as 'Residential'. It is therefore not directly possible to determine whether or not dwellings have been built on a garden. This has not changed since the Land Use Change Statistics were introduced in 1989.
	As a proxy, we use data on previously-residential land instead of back gardens, but this includes conversions, sites where dwellings are demolished and replaced as well as building on back gardens and other types of development.
	Over the period 2002 to 2006 (the most recent years for which data are available) 94 per cent. of dwellings in the Uxbridge constituency were built on previously-developed land. This compares to 95 per cent. across the whole of London and 70 per cent. across England. Over the same period 33 per cent. of dwellings in the Uxbridge constituency were built on previously-residential land. This compares to 20 per cent. across the whole of London and 18 per cent. across England.
	
		
			  Proportion of dwellings built on previously-developed and previously residential land 2002-06 
			  Percentage 
			   Proportion of dwellings built on previously-developed land  Proportion of dwellings built on previously-residential land 
			 Uxbridge constituency 94 33 
			
			 London boroughs 95 20 
			
			  Inner London   
			 City of London 100 63 
			 Camden 95 22 
			 Hackney 99 16 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 100 21 
			 Haringey 98 17 
			 Islington 100 25 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 99 13 
			 Lambeth 94 17 
			 Lewisham 98 21 
			 Newham 86 11 
			 Southwark 93 7 
			 Tower Hamlets 99 10 
			 Wandsworth 100 10 
			 Westminster 100 17 
			
			  Outer London   
			 Barking and Dagenham 67 17 
			 Barnet 93 44 
			 Bexley 83 17 
			 Brent 87 19 
			 Bromley 90 34 
			 Croydon 99 47 
			 Ealing 90 18 
			 Enfield 100 21 
			 Greenwich 98 7 
			 Harrow 89 36 
			 Havering 94 18 
			 Hillingdon 92 36 
			 Hounslow 93 8 
			 Kingston upon Thames 95 45 
			 Merton 90 26 
			 Redbridge 97 10 
			 Richmond upon Thames 98 36 
			 Sutton 100 40 
			 Waltham Forest 95 28 
			
			 England total 70 18 
			  Notes: 1. There is an inevitable time-lag between land use change occurring and it being recorded, therefore data are constantly being updated. 2. The data in the table are based on records received from Ordnance Survey up to June 2007, consistent with the Land Use Change Statistics publication published on 31 October 2007.

Housing: Low Incomes

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to ensure that provision of new affordable housing matches housing needs analysis in relation to the need for affordable family homes in  (a) Warrington and  (b) other Northwest housing hotspots.

Iain Wright: holding answer 3 December 2007
	Funding for housing is distributed between the regions on the basis of an analysis of relative need which takes account of local authority need. North-west housing hotspots would be reflected in this analysis. Announcements as to the levels of funding to be made available in the north-west over the next three years for affordable housing will be made shortly.
	The funding is being made available to bids from both housing associations, developers and local authorities through the Housing Corporation's bidding round for the National Affordable Housing Programme. Investment in 2008-11 and completions in particular locations will depend on the bids received by the Housing Corporation.

Housing: Overcrowding

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria her Department uses to determine whether a  (a) one,  (b) two and  (c) three bedroom property is overcrowded.

Iain Wright: The existing statutory overcrowding standards are set out in Part 1 of the Housing Act 1985—a dwelling is overcrowded when the number of people sleeping in the dwelling contravenes either the room standard or the space standard:
	The room standard is breached if the number of people sleeping in a dwelling, and the number of rooms available as sleeping accommodation, are such that two people of opposite sexes who are not living together as husband and wife must sleep in the same room. Children under 10 do not count.
	The space standard specifies the maximum number of people who may sleep in a dwelling, and in the available rooms within it, having regard to (i) the number of available rooms of 50 square feet or more and (ii) the floor area in each room. Two calculations are required and the lower number applies. Babies under one year old do not count, and children between one and 10 count as half.
	For the purposes of these standards, a room is considered to be "available as sleeping accommodation" if it is "of a type normally used in the locality either as a bedroom or a living room".

Hutchinson

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings  (a) she and  (b) her officials have had with (i) Hutchinson Ports and (ii) lobbyists engaged by Hutchinson Ports in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: My right hon. Friend has held no meetings with Hutchinson Ports UK Ltd. or their lobbyists in the last 12 months, nor have officials from Communities and Local Government and Government Office East of England. However, representatives from Hutchinson Ports UK Ltd. have been present at some routine meetings between officials and the Haven Gateway Partnership.

Independent Infrastructure Planning Commission

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many members the proposed independent Infrastructure Planning Commission will have; and how many of them will be appointed by  (a) the Welsh Assembly Government and  (b) the Scottish Executive.

John Healey: The White Paper "Planning for a Sustainable Future" (CM7120) outlined that the number of Commissioners would depend on the Commission's workload, but that we expect that the Commission might require between 20-30 Commissioners. All of the Commissioners would be appointed by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will ask Welsh Ministers for nominations for 2-3 of these posts, reflecting the role of the Commission in determining nationally significant energy infrastructure projects in Wales. The Infrastructure Planning Commission will have no role in determining projects in Scotland, and so no nominations will be sought from Scottish Ministers.

Licensing Laws

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations have been made to her Department on the use of temporary events notices; what assessment her Department has made of the use of temporary events notices instead of regular licensing; and how many temporary event notices have been  (a) applied for and  (b) granted in each London borough in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	We have received a number of representations on the use of temporary event notices (TENs). These have included some calls for an increase to the number that can be given in one year, with others calling for a decrease. My right hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, South (Mr. Woodward) made a ministerial written statement on 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 39WS, which stated that the Government had no plans to change limits. The Government also stated in their Memorandum on Re-licensing, sent to the Select Committee on Communities and Local Government on 10 January 2007, that while there had been some representations about licensed premises using TENs to operate additional hours or activities which have not been included on the full licence, the Government believed that the existing limit was sufficient. In the Report of the Independent Fees Review Panel, chaired by Sir Les Elton, the Panel recommended that the TENs limit be increased from 12 to 15 each year. The Government will respond to the Panel's report in due course.
	It is not possible to provide the information in the format requested as TENs did not exist until 24 November 2005, when the Licensing Act 2003 came into force, and there is no data held centrally that shows figures prior to 1 April 2006. The following table shows how many TENs were given during the 12 month period to 31 March 2007 across the licensing authorities in London which cover London borough areas.
	
		
			  Licensing authority  Valid temporary event notices given to licensing authority  Counter notices given following police objection  Counter notices given where limits exceeded 
			 Barking and Dagenham 225 0 0 
			 Barnet 463 0 0 
			 Bexley 285 4 0 
			 Brent 247 0 0 
			 Bromley 1,564 5 1 
			 Camden — — — 
			 City of London Corporation 321 0 0 
			 Croydon 398 2 32 
			 Ealing 450 4 0 
			 Enfield 459 0 0 
			 Greenwich 264 0 0 
			 Hackney 606 4 14 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 394 0 2 
			 Haringey 330 5 0 
			 Harrow 285 0 4 
			 Havering 379 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 335 0 0 
			 Hounslow — — — 
			 Islington 560 0 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 331 2 1 
			 Kingston upon Thames 223 0 0 
			 Lambeth 402 0 3 
			 Lewisham 327 0 0 
			 Merton 390 0 0 
			 Newham 178 1 0 
			 Redbridge 264 3 0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 722 0 0 
			 Southwark — — — 
			 Sutton 354 0 0 
			 Tower Hamlets 513 — — 
			 Waltham Forest 184 0 1 
			 Wandsworth 596 0 — 
			 Westminster 2,023 0 19 
			  Note:  Where there are blank cells in the table, information was not provided by the licensing authority. Valid temporary event notices given includes notices which were subsequently withdrawn.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects the Minister for Housing to reply to the letter of 1 August 2007 from the right hon. Member for West Chelmsford; what the reasons are for the time taken to reply; and if she will make a statement

Iain Wright: I replied to the hon. Gentleman on 28 November 2007. I apologise for the delay in responding.

Office for Tenants and Social Landlords

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the proposed Office for Tenants and Social Landlords will  (a) set and  (b) monitor performance targets for (i) local authorities and (ii) housing associations.

Iain Wright: The Housing and Regeneration Bill before Parliament permits the proposed Office for Tenants and Social Landlords (OFTENANT) to set standards covering a range of functions relating to social housing owned by providers registered with it and to collect information from registered providers.
	It will be for OFTENANT to determine which standards are set and how they are monitored, subject to its own objectives, which include ensuring protection of tenants and minimising regulatory interference. Professor Martin Cave's review of social housing regulation, published in June 2007, envisaged that registered bodies might develop own codes of conduct which they would monitor themselves, with the regulator collecting basic performance information.
	These provisions will apply to all housing associations which are currently registered with the Housing Corporation. They do not apply to local authorities, but the Government have announced their intention to extend the scope of the regulator to local authority landlords and Arms Length Management Organisations within two years of OFTENANT's creation.

Planning

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to her answer of 26 November 2007,  Official Report, column 139, on planning, if she will place in the Library copies of all correspondence and documentation relating to the Durham Green Business Park planning application and development, held by  (a) her Department and  (b) the Government Office for the North East.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 3 December 2007
	My Department and the Government Office North East hold no such correspondence or documentation.
	The Durham Green Business Park planning proposal was nominated by the local authority (Durham city council) for inclusion in the pilot for Planning Delivery Agreements (PDAs, which have since been renamed to Planning Performance Agreements) and all nominations were accepted. This pilot was run jointly by the Planning Advisory Service (part of the Improvement and Development Agency), and the Advisory Team on Large Applications (part of English Partnerships). Neither of these bodies have any role in determining the outcome of planning applications. PDAs are not about determining applications but about ensuring efficient working processes on a local level when dealing with large or complex projects. Ministers were not involved in the selection of proposals for the pilot. All documentation relating to the Durham Green Business Park held by the Planning Advisory Service has been placed in the Library today.

Planning

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations her Department has received from  (a) representatives of Durham Green Developments Ltd. and  (b) Mr. David Abrahams in relation to planning in the last 36 months.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 3 December 2007
	Officials in my Department have checked our records and have found no such representations.

Planning

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the development of the Durham Green Business Park, near south Durham, entails development on green belt land according to the records held by  (a) her Department and  (b) the Government Office for the North East.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 3 December 2007
	The City of Durham Local Plan shows that the Durham Green Business Park is outside the green belt.

Planning Permission: Public Participation

Patricia Hewitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when her Department last reviewed the guidelines or regulations on how local councils communicate with residents about planning applications affecting their neighbourhood;
	(2)  if she will encourage local authorities to make full use of the internet to enable interested local residents to be informed by e-mail of any planning application made within their neighbourhood;
	(3)  if she will review the guidance given to local authorities on informing local residents of planning applications in their neighbourhood;
	(4)  what statutory requirements her Department imposes upon local authorities in relation to informing local residents of planning applications that affect their neighbourhood;
	(5)  what advice her Department provides to local authorities on how to inform local residents of a planning application in their neighbourhood.

Iain Wright: Article 8 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order (the GDPO) 1995 sets out the duties of local planning authorities to publicise the planning applications they receive in order to invite comments on development proposals from third parties. Guidance on those duties is provided by Department of the Environment Circular 15/92, "Publicity for Planning Applications".
	The GDPO requires the local planning authority to publicise planning applications, either by a site notice or by notification to neighbours. In addition, local advertisement in a newspaper is required for applications for planning permission for 'major' applications which is defined as minerals applications, waste development, the provision of dwellings (where more than 10 provided or site is 0.5 ha or over), a building with floor space of 1,000 m(2) or over, development on a site of 1 ha or over, and also listed building consent and conservation area consent. Local planning authorities may also use their websites to publicise planning applications.
	In June 2004, the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published the report "Review of the Publicity Requirements for Planning Applications" evaluating the effectiveness of publicity requirements.
	In the 2007 Planning White Paper "Planning for a Sustainable Future", the Government proposed a review and simplification of the GDPO.
	We are encouraging local planning authorities to use the internet to notify residents of planning applications by constructing an 'e-Consultation Hub' to be run by the Planning Portal. It is envisaged that citizens will be able to register their interest and be notified of any applications in their area, and then respond (if they wish to) online direct to the local planning authority.
	We have also given a commitment in the Planning White Paper that the hub will be constructed and come into operation by April 2008. However, in the first instance, the service will link statutory consultees and local planning authorities, with citizen services being implemented soon after.

Regional Planning and Development: Government Office for the South East

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans the Government Office for the South East has to  (a) review and  (b) designate Areas of Great Landscape Value in local development frameworks; and what guidance her Department has provided on this.

Iain Wright: The Government Office for the South-East has no plans to review or designate Areas of Great Landscape Value in local development frameworks. These are local rather than national designations which have been created by local planning authorities. Government guidance on local landscape designations is provided in Planning Policy Statement 7 (PPS7): Sustainable Development in Rural Areas. This advises that local landscape designations should be maintained only or, exceptionally, extended where it can be clearly shown that criteria-based planning policies cannot provide the necessary protection. PPS7 also states that, when reviewing their local area-wide development plans and local development documents, planning authorities should rigorously consider the justification for retaining existing local landscape designations. They should ensure that such designations are based on a formal and robust assessment of the qualities of the landscape concerned.

Regional Planning and Development: Green belt

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy that no regional spatial strategy approved by her will entail  (a) developments on the green belt and  (b) reviews of the green belt with a view to development.

Parmjit Dhanda: National policy on green belt is set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2: Green Belts. One of the principles of the policy is that, where necessary, green belt boundaries are strategically reviewed. Boundaries can be changed only in exceptional circumstances and after public consultation and examination through the plan process. The Regional Spatial Strategy is the appropriate setting for strategic green belt reviews to be considered, with detailed boundaries being a matter for local authorities.
	The Government have set a target that overall there should be
	"no net change, or an increase, in the area of designated Green Belt land in each region."
	Since 1997, excluding the re-designation of the New Forest from green belt to National Park, the green belt in England has grown by 25,900 hectares.

Religious Buildings: Islam

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of mosques in the UK which are funded by groups or organisations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Government do not hold information on the number of mosques in the UK funded by groups or organisations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Government are working with a range of partners to further develop their understanding of Muslim communities in the UK and their infrastructure.

Religious Buildings: Islam

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of mosques in the UK which promote Wahhabism.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Government do not hold information on the number of mosques in the UK or their denominations. The Government are working with a range of partners to further develop their understanding of Muslim communities in the UK and their infrastructure.

Religious Persons: Saudi Arabia

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of imams in the UK who were  (a) born in Saudi Arabia and  (b) educated or trained in Saudi Arabia.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Government do not hold information on the number of imams in the UK who were born in Saudi Arabia or educated/trained in Saudi Arabia. The Government are working with a range of partners to further develop their understanding of Muslim communities in the UK and their infrastructure.

Right to Buy Scheme: Finance

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much Right to Buy capital was set aside in each year since the scheme started; and to what extent each local authority has used set-aside capital to repay historical debt.

Iain Wright: Under the 'set-aside' regime, which ran until 1 April 2004, with-debt local authorities were required to set aside a proportion of the capital receipt generated by the disposal of a Housing Revenue Account (HRA) asset, upon disposal of that asset, for repayment of housing debt. Debt-free authorities were free to use their receipts for any capital purpose they saw fit.
	The Department recorded the value of capital receipts set-aside and continues to record the value of Right to Buy (RTB) sales. However, these are separate exercises. The manner in which the data are collected means that no differentiation is made between RTB sales and other disposals of housing assets resulting in a capital receipt that goes to make up that set-aside total for a local authority.
	The following table shows the value of capital receipts set-aside from 1995-96 to 2003-04 (the last year in which the set-aside regime existed). When set-aside exceeds RTB capital receipts it is because set-aside includes a proportion of receipts from not only RTB but also whole-stock transfers, non-RTB dwelling sales and sales of other HRA assets such as housing land.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Set-aside  Right to buy receipts 
			 1995-96 860 (1)— 
			 1996-97 637 (1)— 
			 1997-98 943 890 
			 1998-99 1,085 911 
			 1999-2000 1,477 1,374 
			 2000-01 1,626 1,426 
			 2001-02 1,382 1,566 
			 2002-03 1,857 2,210 
			 2003-04 (1)— 2,936 
			 (1) No data. 
		
	
	Pre 1997-98 data are available only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department does not collect data on whether local authorities actually used the set-aside generated by disposals to repay housing debt. For the purposes of HRA subsidy it was assumed that the set-aside was used to repay housing debt.

Sustainable Development: Leicester

Patricia Hewitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the proposals from Leicester city council for a sustainable community at Ashton Green; what support her Department will make available to Leicester city council in respect of this development; and what steps it will take to help Leicester city council secure an element of affordable housing within the development.

Iain Wright: Proposals for housing development at Ashton Green first came before the Secretary of State as an allocation in the 1991 to 2001 Leicester Local Plan, and subsequently in the 1996 to 2016 Replacement Leicester Local Plan. The Secretary of State enabled that proposal to emerge through the statutory planning process, culminating in the adoption of the current City of Leicester Local Plan in January 2006.
	Ashton Green formed part of the evidence supporting the 6Cs (formerly three cities) Growth Point Bid submitted to my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning early in 2006. The viability of those proposals, supported by the adopted status of the Ashton Green allocation, was confirmed in October 2006 with the award of Growth Point status to the 6Cs partnership, which includes Leicester city council.
	Further details of the Ashton Green sustainable community were submitted to the Department as evidence supporting the 6Cs program of development in October 2007. That document made the case for Growth Point funding for the 6Cs that is currently under consideration by the Department: an announcement on funding to all Growth Points will be made in the near future. Growth Point funding is to be awarded as a block grant, so it will be a matter for local partners, including Leicester city council, to determine how to use any funds to support their growth aspirations at Ashton Green and elsewhere.
	I met with the Deputy Leader of Leicester city council on 13 November 2007 to discuss affordable housing issues, including the city council's aspirations for Ashton Green. I invited Leicester city to discuss the potential of forming a local housing company as proposed in the July 2007 Housing White Paper "Homes for the Future; more affordable, more sustainable", with my officials. As the owner of the land at Ashton Green, Leicester city council is well placed to secure a high proportion of affordable housing on this site through such a delivery vehicle.
	The Department's agency English Partnerships also met with Leicester city council in November to discuss the potential of Ashton Green to act as a demonstration site for eco-homes, with the benefit of technical support from English Partnerships and their acknowledged expertise in this area.

Translation Services

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to issue guidance on translation services for local authorities, Departments and their agencies; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: Guidance for local authorities on the translation of publications will be issued shortly.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Community Care Grants

Terry Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what percentage of community care grant applications were granted  (a) in total and  (b) at each benefit delivery centre in 2006-07;
	(2)  what the average time was to process a community care grant application  (a) in total and  (b) at each benefit delivery centre in 2006-07;
	(3)  how many outstanding community care grant applications there were at each benefit delivery centre in each month since March;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of levels of financial hardship resulting from the time taken in processing community care grants.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 21 November 2007
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 4 December 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking what percentage of Community Care Grant applications were granted in total and at each benefit delivery centre in 2006-07; what the average time was to process a Community Care Grant application in total and at each benefit delivery centre in 2006-07; how many outstanding Community Care Grant applications there were at each benefit delivery centre in each month since March and what assessment has been made of levels of financial hardship resulting from the time taken in processing Community Care Grants. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The percentage of Community Care Grant applications processed which were granted in total and at each Social Fund operating unit in 2006-07 is in table 1. This does not include applications which were initially refused but later granted on review. The average time taken to process a Community Care Grant application and at each Social Fund operating unit in 2006-07 is in table 2.
	The processing time for an individual application is measured in whole working days from the date of receipt of the application to the date of the decision, inclusive. The minimum processing time recorded for an individual application is one day, even if the application is processed immediately.
	The number of outstanding Community Care Grant applications at each benefit delivery centre at the end of each month from March to October 2007 is in table 3.
	Copies of the tables have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	No assessment has been made of levels of financial hardship resulting from the time taken in processing Community Care Grants. However, we have plans in place to improve our performance on Community Care Grant clearance times.
	I hope this is helpful.

Departmental ICT

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which manufacturers' software is used in his Department.

Mike O'Brien: The Department for Work and Pensions has a requirement for a wide variety of software from a large number of manufacturers due to the complexity of its business operations and supporting IT systems.
	For this reason the names of the top 10 manufacturers identified by consideration of cost whose software the Department uses are given:
	Microsoft
	IBM
	Oracle
	BEA Software Ltd.
	QAS Systems
	TIBCO
	WRQ Ltd.
	Stellant
	Codestream
	Integralis Ltd.
	The Department's software is obtained either by direct procurement via a contracted software reseller or as part of a service via its IT service providers (some at corporate level and some at operational level).

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department and its agencies spent on staff working on  (a) marketing and  (b) branding in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: The figures noted in the following table represent the costs for staff working in Branding and Marketing in the Department and its agencies. Figures used are for the last financial year (2006-07). It is not possible to separate branding and marketing without obtaining disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Agency  Cost (£000) 
			 Child Support Agency 125 
			 DWP Corporate 1,197 
			 Disability and Carers Service 32 
			 Health and Safety Executive 84 
			 Jobcentre Plus 3,900 
			 The Pension Service 304 
			 The Rent Service 155 
			 Total 5,797

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department and its agencies spent on managing their corporate identities in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: The information requested is not held centrally by the Department and its agencies, and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Publicity

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent by his Department on advertising in the last 12 months.

Anne McGuire: The Department runs a number of promotional campaigns aimed at increasing awareness of rights and responsibilities. The table details spend on advertising campaigns run by the Department in financial year 2006-07 for which figures are available.
	Government policies and programmes affect the lives of millions of people and in order for them to work they must be communicated effectively. But that also has to be done with cost efficiency in mind and there are strict rules to ensure value for money on Government advertising.
	
		
			  Departmental advertising costs 2006-07( 1) 
			   Amount (£000) 
			 Age Partnership Group 9 
			 Age Positive 40 
			 Targeting benefit fraud 5,418 
			 Reducing customer error 45 
			 The Pension Service core benefit take up 881 
			 Winter fuel payments 343 
			 Child maintenance enforcement 107 
			 Jobcentre Plus promotion to Black and Minority Ethnic audience 687 
			 Job Done 765 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance 50+ Pilot 83 
			 Lone parent 171 
			 Total 8,549 
			 1 The table does not include the following as the information is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost: spend by non-departmental bodies for which the Department is responsible details of highly localised publicity activity by the Department's customer-facing Businesses recruitment or procurement advertising 
		
	
	The information in the table relates to media buying expenditure only, which forms the bulk of departmental publicity expenditure, but excludes direct mail, public relations, production and other costs. All figures are exclusive of VAT.

Disability Living Allowance: Forms

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the ease of completing disability living allowance application forms; and if he will  (a) bring forward proposals to review the format of the forms and  (b) consult the National Autistic Society on their recommendations for changes to the application process.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 26 November 2007
	The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mrs. Vivien Hopkins. She will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Vivien Hopkins, dated 4 December 2007:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the ease of completing disability living allowance application forms; and if he will (a) bring forward proposals to review the format of the forms and (b) consult the National Autistic Society on their recommendations for changes to the application process.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Acting Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	We have a long standing commitment to improving our service to our customers, including identifying and implementing improvements to claim forms for Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
	By way of background the claim form has to cater for the fact that disabling conditions affect different people in different ways, varying enormously from individual to individual, and may also change over time in a way that is not always easy to predict.
	For these reasons it is vital that each person has the opportunity to explain, on the claim form, exactly how their disability affects their personal care and mobility needs. In addition, over 70% of DLA working age customers have more than one medical condition and forms must therefore allow customers to explain the needs arising from physical, mental or sensory impairments, or any combination of these.
	Since September 2005, we have aimed to better balance the needs of both our customers and our decision makers by changing the format of our claim forms to a tick box format with more specific questions. This enables the customer to focus more easily on the information required and simplifies completion by the customer, carer or representative. At the same time, it provides the level of detail that DCS decision makers need to understand the impact of the customer's medical condition on their daily life, when considering the legislative criteria for entitlement. The forms allow the customer to provide additional detail in free text, if necessary.
	In developing a new claim form for DLA customers of working age, customer research was conducted using qualitative methods, and extensive consultation with the DCS Advisory Forum (DCS AF) was undertaken. The first version of a new DLA claim form was introduced in September 2005 and used for 6 months in the Bootle and Manchester areas. An amended version was introduced in April 2006 following further consultation with the DCS AF and this version was fully evaluated.
	The evaluation undertaken found that customers were significantly more satisfied with the new claim form than had been the case in the 2005/2006 MORI survey of DCS customers about the national claim forms. Staff, and decision makers in particular, were also generally positive about the new form compared to the previous version, particularly the inclusion of tick boxes.
	Further revisions were made to the form as a result of ongoing evaluation and feedback, resulting in the new DLA 1 Adult claim form that was rolled out for national use in April 2007.
	I now turn to part (b) of your question asking if DCS will consult with the National Autistic Society on their recommendations for changes to the application process. I can confirm that we are currently working with key stakeholders, including parents and representatives of children's welfare organisations, to consider the issues around the application process for children, including possible revisions to the DLA Child claim form. The National Autistic Society is one of the groups represented and they are therefore aware of the potential changes to the DLA Child claim form.
	This work is at an early stage and development of a revised version of a DLA Child claim form for testing and evaluation is planned during 2008.
	Please let me know if I can help further.

Disabled: Access

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much funding has been  (a) made available and  (b) spent to make the buildings occupied by his Department fully accessible to disabled people.

Anne McGuire: The vast majority of the Department's estate is occupied under the terms of the PRIME PFI contract. DWP pays a unitary charge in return for fully serviced accommodation. Under the terms of the PRIME contract, Land Securities Trillium (LST) are responsible for funding works associated with legislative requirements. This includes works to improve accessibility.

Housing Benefit: Greater London

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the median housing benefit payment made to claimants was in the private rented sector in each London local authority in 2006.

James Plaskitt: The median amount for housing benefit cannot be given as the data held are aggregate data. A mean amount has been provided instead in the following table
	
		
			  Average weekly amount of housing benefit paid to private rented sector tenants by London local authorities: February, May, August and November 2006 
			   Average weekly amount( 1)  (£) 
			 London Government Office Region 137.94 
			   
			 Barking 128.42 
			 Barnet 150.35 
			 Bexley 120.04 
			 Brent 143.23 
			 Bromley 129.84 
			 Camden 146.42 
			 City of London 121.41 
			 Croydon 136.99 
			 Ealing 142.85 
			 Enfield 140.82 
			 Greenwich 122.77 
			 Hackney 145.63 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 143.99 
			 Haringey 124.61 
			 Harrow 153.47 
			 Havering 121.66 
			 Hillingdon 134.58 
			 Hounslow 132.50 
			 Islington 130.54 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 182.21 
			 Kingston upon Thames 136.11 
			 Lambeth 119.93 
			 Lewisham 129.16 
			 Merton 136.19 
			 Newham 126.43 
			 Redbridge 135.17 
			 Richmond upon Thames 132.68 
			 Southwark 123.78 
			 Sutton 128.33 
			 Tower Hamlets 151.24 
			 Waltham Forest 118.61 
			 Wandsworth 159.13 
			 Westminster 185.63 
			 (1) Amounts are a weighted four quarter average of data at February, May, August and November 2006.  Notes: 1. Amounts have been shown to the nearest penny. 2. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. 3. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 4. Figures for non-responding local authorities have been estimated.  Source: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. scan taken in February, May, August and November 2006.

Housing Benefit: Greater London

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims were made for discretionary housing payments in each London local authority in 2006; how many such claims were accepted; and what the median payment was in each area.

James Plaskitt: The information for 2006 is not available.

Incapacity Benefit: Vale of York

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit payments were made in each of the last three years in the Vale of York; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Information about the number of incapacity benefit payments is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information about the number of beneficiaries in the Vale of York is in the following table.
	Number of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance beneficiaries in Vale of York parliamentary constituency
	
		
			  Quarter ending  Beneficiaries receiving payment 
			 May 2005 1,760 
			 May 2006 1,700 
			 May 2007 1,640 
			  Notes: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent WPLS

In-work Premium Payments

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of all recipients of in-work premium payments remained in work for the full year for which the payment applied; and what assessment he has made of how this compares to the job retention rates for groups not entitled to such payments;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of in-work premium payments in respect of  (a) job retention and  (b) in-work poverty.

Caroline Flint: 59 per cent. of in-work credit claims were for the full year. This is the best indication we have of the proportion of recipients who sustained employment for at least one year.
	DWP has recently published an initial impact assessment of lone parent pilots, including in-work credit, after 12 to 24 months of the pilots' operation. Although it was not possible for the initial report to examine job retention rates, the next report, due to be published summer 2008, will examine the longer term impacts of the pilot, including retention. Forthcoming qualitative research will also examine the effects of in-work credit on job retention, to provide context for the findings from the impact assessment.
	Recent qualitative research with lone parents and Jobcentre Plus staff supports the view that in-work credit aids employment retention.
	In-work poverty is not part of the planned evaluation of in-work credit.

In-work Premium Payments

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received an in-work premium payment in each quarter since its inception.

Caroline Flint: The available information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Quarters  Number of in-work credit starts 
			  2004  
			 April to June 360 
			 July to September 460 
			 October to December 1,780 
			   
			  2005  
			 January to March 2,160 
			 April to June 3,060 
			 July to September 3,380 
			 October to December 5,220 
			   
			  2006  
			 January to March 5,560 
			 April to June 5,500 
			 July to September 5,980 
			 October to December 5,900 
			   
			  2007  
			 January to March 5,520 
			 April to June 6,040 
			  Notes:  1. Rounded to nearest 20.  2. Information is provided to June 2007 as this is the last quarter available.   Source:  Resource Management database.

Jobcentre Plus: Dismissal

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff in Jobcentre Plus have been dismissed in the last 12 months due to their attendance record.

Caroline Flint: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 4 December 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of staff in Jobcentre Plus who have been dismissed in the last 12 months due to their attendance record. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The latest available information is that 497 people were dismissed due to unsatisfactory attendance between October 2006 and September 2007.
	The attendance management procedures operated by Jobcentre Plus are within the framework set in the Department for Work and Pensions attendance management policy.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus: Manpower

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people there are on each grading of Jobcentre Plus's customer assessment tool.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not routinely collected and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Jobcentre Plus: Standards

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the 56th Report of the Public Accounts Committee, Session 2006-07 HC 312, if he will monitor the performance of Jobcentre Plus by the exit to employment successes of individual personal advisers.

Caroline Flint: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 4 December 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking if he will monitor the performance of Jobcentre Plus by the exit to employment successes of individual personal advisers. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	We have no plans to monitor the performance of Jobcentre Plus by the exit to employment successes of individual personal advisers. However, we will continue to monitor our success in helping people into work at national and district level through the Job Outcome Target.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Terry Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether a claimant may be refused jobseeker's allowance on the grounds of having voluntarily left employment where they have done so following  (a) domestic violence,  (b) bereavement and  (c) dismissal because of inability to meet the conditions of employment due to child care responsibilities.

James Plaskitt: The Jobseekers Act 1995 states to receive jobseeker's allowance a claimant's unemployment must be involuntary. An independent decision maker will consider why a claimant's employment has ended and whether they had just cause. All the factors in which the claimant's employment ended will be considered as a whole, including personal or domestic life aspects. Where domestic violence, bereavement or child care responsibilities are factors they will be taken into account.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Terry Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances the jobseeker's allowance regime permits claimants to participate in  (a) full or  (b) part-time education or training.

James Plaskitt: To receive and continue to receive jobseeker's allowance, claimants must be available and actively seeking work. Generally claimants who are in full-time education are not regarded as available for employment during the period of study. Similarly those in full-time training are not regarded as available and are not entitled to jobseeker's allowance.
	Jobseeker's allowance claimants can however, undertake part-time skills training provided it does not conflict with the work search requirements of their benefit.
	However, obtaining skills can be an important factor in finding and retaining work. Therefore claimants will be treated as available if they are participating in an employment related course of up to two weeks approved in advance by DWP, or aged 25 or over and on an approved employment related course including one under the new deal for up to nine months.
	Intensive training for longer than two weeks can only be accessed by moving an individual from jobseeker's allowance onto a training allowance, which protects eligibility to passported benefits including housing benefit and council tax benefit. Training allowances have to date, only been offered to a limited number. In "Opportunity, Employment and Progression: making skills work", published on 26 November, we announced our intention to increase access to such training allowances.
	Subject to adviser discretion, customers who have been claiming jobseeker's allowance for six months or more will be moved to a training allowance and will be able to undertake training full-time, employability focussed training designed to meet employer needs for up to eight weeks.
	Further, in recognition of the importance of obtaining skills in increasing the employment prospects for some Jobcentre Plus customers, we have also announced that we will be piloting mandatory training where the adviser thinks this is appropriate, to test if this increases job outcome rates and employment sustainability and progression.

Local Employment Partnerships

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many companies are participating in local employment partnerships.

Caroline Flint: So far, 225 employers have agreed to participate in local employment partnerships. 85 of these have already started to implement their partnerships.

Peel Park House

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the designed staff capacity is for his Department's offices at Peel Park House near Blackpool.

Anne McGuire: Peel Park is capable of supporting between 1,300 and 2,400 staff, depending on the configuration of the space required, for example the number of meeting rooms and other space to support business operations and whether non-territorial working is in operation. Based on current estimates for future headcounts, DWP is planning to house 920 staff in Peel Park in 2008. Plans are being considered for further estate rationalisation during 2008-09, which could increase the overall staff numbers at Peel Park by as many as 200.

Pension Protection Fund

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what information was used to calculate invoices for the Pension Protection Fund in 2006-07;
	(2)  what information was used to calculate the levies for the Pension Protection Fund in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is partly funded by a Pension Protection Levy and an Administration Levy on all eligible defined-benefit occupational pension schemes. The PPF is also funded by the assets of schemes that transfer into the PPF and the investment returns of these assets.
	The Administration Levy is set by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under section 117 of the Pensions Act 2004 and is calculated and payable based on the number of members in an eligible scheme. The Administration Levy is imposed in respect of eligible schemes for the purpose of meeting the running costs of the PPF and the Fraud Compensation Fund.
	Section 175 of the Pensions Act 2004 provides that the board of the PPF must impose a Pension Protection Levy which is comprised of a scheme-based element (20 per cent.) and a risk-based element (80 per cent.). The Pension Protection Levy is invested to pay compensation to members of eligible defined-benefit occupational pension schemes, when there is a qualifying insolvency event in relation to an employer and where there are insufficient assets in a pension scheme to cover PPF levels of compensation. Section 181 of the Pensions Act 2004 provides that the calculation of the Pension Protection Levy in respect of eligible schemes is a matter for the board of the PPF.
	A guide to the Pension Protection Levy 2006-07 is available on the Pension Protection Fund's website at:
	http://www.pensionprotectionfund.org.uk/levy_guide_0607.pdf
	The calculation of invoices is also a matter for the PPF board and I have asked the chief executive of the PPF, Partha Dasgupta, to write to the hon. Gentleman on these matters.

Pension Protection Fund

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many service calls on invoicing issues were recorded by the Pension Protection Fund in each month since the fund began operating.

Mike O'Brien: The PPF receives a range of inquiries in respect of the levy including questions, queries and remittance advice. The broad split was 1,237 (19 per cent.) in respect of levy policy and 5,238 (81 per cent.) in respect of data used for the levy.
	I have asked Partha Dasgupta, the Chief Executive of the PPF to write to the hon. Gentleman on this matter.

Pension Credit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) pensioners and  (b) pensioner households (i) were eligible and (ii) took up pension credit in each of the last five years.

Mike O'Brien: Estimates of the number of pensioner households eligible for pension credit and the number and proportion that take up pension credit for 2003-04 to 2005-06 can be obtained from the last two 'Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up' reports. Copies are available in the Library.
	The 2005-06 report is the latest available, therefore eligibility and take-up figures are not available for 2007.
	The number of households receiving pension credit as at May 2007 was 2.73 million and the number of individual beneficiaries as at May 2007 was 3.34 million.
	 Notes:
	1. The number of households in receipt are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.
	 Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Social Security Benefits: Christmas

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provision he has made for claimants to collect their benefit for the week commencing 24 December in the week commencing 17 December.

James Plaskitt: We have settled processes in place to advance payments for the Christmas and new year periods which have worked well for the last few years. Customers having their payments paid into bank accounts will be able to access their money from cash machines throughout the whole of the holiday period. Those customers using post office branches will be able to collect their cash earlier than normal when their post office branch is open.

Social Security Benefits: Wrexham

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what percentage of children lived in families claiming benefits in each ward in Wrexham in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what percentage of children lived in families in receipt of disability benefits in each ward in Wrexham in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Children living in families claiming workless benefits and disability benefits in each ward in Wrexham 
			   Percentage of children in families on workless benefits aged 0-15( 1)  Percentage of children in families on disability benefits aged 0-15( 2) 
			  Ward name  April 2004  April 2005  April 2006  April 2006 
			 Acton 25.9 23.2 23.4 7.7 
			 Borras Park 4.4 4.8 3.4 2.5 
			 Bronington 5.0 4.1 3.3 2.6 
			 Brymbo 23.6 26.5 25.1 6.5 
			 Brynyffynnon 17.7 16.1 16.9 3.1 
			 Bryn Cefn 22.1 22.9 20.7 4.1 
			 Cartrefle 41.3 41.4 36.3 8.3 
			 Cefn 21.5 20.8 21.4 5.6 
			 Dyffryn 10.2 11.7 11.2 4.2 
			 Ceiriog/Ceiriog Valley 
			 Chirk North 18.7 17.1 14.7 3.6 
			 Chirk South 15.6 19.8 14.6 3.9 
			 Coedpoeth 21.7 20.8 17.9 3.1 
			 Erddig 11.2 9.1 9.4 5.6 
			 Esclusham 15.5 14.9 14.0 3.7 
			 Garden Village 6.7 3.0 2.5 1.3 
			 Gresford East and West 7.6 7.6 5.5 3.1 
			 Grosvenor 15.8 13.6 14.7 8.2 
			 Gwenfro 34.6 30.0 29.7 6.9 
			 Gwersyllt East and South 18.9 18.8 18.5 5.0 
			 Gwersyllt North 31.1 29.1 30.0 7.2 
			 Gwersyllt West 20.4 21.0 17.4 4.9 
			 Hermitage 30.9 30.2 30.6 3.8 
			 Holt 10.0 7.9 9.0 3.0 
			 Johnstown 18.6 17.4 16.8 2.9 
			 Little Acton 6.7 7.0 7.3 5.4 
			 Llangollen Rural 16.1 16.7 11.3 3.9 
			 Llay 19.2 20.3 20.8 3.9 
			 Maesydre 20.4 13.4 12.5 6.4 
			 Marchwiel 12.0 11.3 9.5 1.9 
			 Marford and Hoseley 1.4 1.6 3.2 1.4 
			 Minera 11.3 11.7 7.1 2.6 
			 New Broughton 20.1 19.8 16.7 3.5 
			 Offa 18.9 17.0 10.7 2.5 
			 Overton 8.4 9.5 11.0 1.7 
			 Pant 32.1 35.0 32.3 3.4 
			 Penycae 37.2 37.7 32.2 4.9 
			 Penycae and Ruabon South 15.8 15.5 15.2 3.7 
			 Plas Madoc 54.8 51.6 49.4 7.9 
			 Ponciau 17.8 16.6 15.0 4.3 
			 Queensway 54.4 53.1 50.6 3.8 
			 Rhosnesni 6.7 9.2 8.5 4.8 
			 Rossett 6.4 6.0 4.2 1.5 
			 Ruabon 21.5 22.5 21.4 6.2 
			 Smithfield 22.8 22.3 22.6 2.8 
			 Stansty 16.7 16.4 13.1 5.0 
			 Whitegate 30.4 25.7 21.8 4.3 
			 Wynnstay 54.9 53.4 52.9 7.2 
			 (1) (1) Workless benefits' data represent children dependent on a parent/guardian who is claiming one or more of incapacity benefit (IB), severe disablement allowance (SDA), jobseeker's allowance (JSA), income support (IS) or pension credit (PC). (2) 'Disability benefits' data represent children dependent on a parent/guardian who is claiming disability living allowance or attendance allowance. Information on these benefits is not available from this source prior to April 2006 as they were not required in the original specifications.  Notes: 1. All data represent a single snapshot in time of claimants on the computer system, and will therefore exclude a very small number of cases that are held clerically. The data are produced once a year. 2. Geo-referencing tools, obtained from the Office of National Statistics, have been used to assign claimants to geographies. 3. Due to the introduction of child tax credits in April 2003, information on child dependents is not reliably completed on the benefit computer system, therefore data from child benefit records have been merged onto IS/JSA/IB/SDA/PC claims with the permission of HMRC. The total number of children on child benefit has been used as the denominator for the percentages given. 4. The data on workless benefits are only available from April 2004, and from April 2006 for disability benefits. 5. It is possible that there will be some overlap of the figures as children could be in families that are in receipt of both workless and disability benefits.  Source: Information Directorate

JUSTICE

Bailiffs

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received on the conduct of the bailiffs, Phillips Ltd.; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: I have received two pieces of correspondence about the bailiff company Phillips. The first from my right hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, South (Mr. George) which was seeking clarification of their role in enforcing court imposed fines, the second from the hon. Member for Ludlow (Mr. Dunne), in connection with an incorrectly addressed letter sent by Phillips.
	Phillips is contracted by Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) in the Midlands and North East Regions, to execute distress and financial arrest warrants and clamping orders on behalf of HMCS, where the defendant has failed to respond to communications and attempts from the court to enforce the fine.
	My hon. Friend may be aware of an article in the Civil Enforcement News magazine which raised the concerns of Washington Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) about the conduct of Phillips when enforcing fines. Officials from HMCS have recently met with the Washington CAB to explain the enforcement process carried out by HMCS and the role of Phillips once a distress warrant has been issued to them. A joint meeting between HMCS, CAB and Phillips is due to take place in early January 2008.

Cemeteries

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which local authorities cover the cost of reinstatement of gravestones after they are deemed to be unsafe through topple testing.

Bridget Prentice: Responsibility for the maintenance of gravestones lies with their owners, or as otherwise agreed with the local authority. However, I understand that a number of local authorities have decided, at their discretion, to incur the cost of making the gravestones safe.

Courts

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Crown courts there are; where each is located; and how many judges are attached to each court.

Maria Eagle: The Crown court is a single court, which currently sits at 91 locations (listed in table A). Under the provisions of section 8 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 all High Court judges, Circuit judges, Recorders, and District judges (magistrates courts) are judges of the Crown court, as are magistrates sitting in the Crown court on appeal from magistrates courts.
	Under section 9 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 the Lord Chief Justice can also ask Lords Justices, retired Lords Justices, and retired High Court judges to sit as judges of the Crown court. All judges of the Crown court have the full jurisdiction of the court. Judicial resources are allocated according to the number and types of cases to be heard. The number of judges attached to each court is not held centrally and could be obtained only by contacting each court. The total number of judges is shown in table B.
	
		
			  Table A 
			  Courthouse name  Address 
			 Aylesbury Crown Court 38 Market Square, Aylesbury, HP20 1XF 
			 Barnstaple Crown and Magistrates Court Civic Centre, Barnstaple, EX31 1DY 
			 Barrow Crown, Magistrates and County Court Abbey Road, Barrow in Furness , LA14 5QX 
			 Basildon Combined Court Regent House, Basildon, SS14 2EU 
			 Birmingham Crown Court QE2 Law Courts, Birmingham, B4 7NA 
			 Blackfriars Crown Court 1 Pocock Street, London, SE1 0BT 
			 Bolton Combined Court The Law Courts, Bolton, BL1 1SU 
			 Bournemouth Combined Court Wessex Fields, Bournemouth, BH7 7DU 
			 Bradford Combined Court Drake Street, Bradford, BD1 1JA 
			 Bristol Crown Court Small Street, Bristol, BS1 1DA 
			 Burnley Combined Court Hammerton Street, Burnley, BB11 1XE 
			 Bury St. Edmunds Crown and Magistrates Court Shirehall, Bury St. Edmunds, IP1 2DX 
			 Caernarfon Crown Court Castle Ditch Road, Caernarfon, LL55 2AY 
			 Cambridge Criminal Justice Centre 84 East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1BY 
			 Canterbury Combined Court Chaucer Barracks, Canterbury, CT1 1ZA 
			 Cardiff Crown Court Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF1 3PG 
			 Carlisle Combined Court Earl Street, Carlisle, CA1 1DJ 
			 Central Criminal Court Old Bailey, London, EC4M 7EH 
			 Chelmsford Crown Court New Street, Chelmsford, CM1 1EL 
			 Chester Crown Court The Castle, Chester, CH1 2AN 
			 Chichester Combined Court 41/42 Southgate, Chichester, PO19 1SX 
			 Coventry Combined Court 140 Much Park Street, Coventry, CV1 2SN 
			 Croydon Combined Court Altyre Road, Croydon, CR9 5AB 
			 Derby Combined Court The Morledge, Derby, DEI 2XE 
			 Dolgellau Magistrates and Crown Court County Hall, Dolgellau, LL40 1AU 
			 Doncaster Crown Court Crown Court Offices, Doncaster, DN1 3HS 
			 Durham Crown Court Old Elvet, Durham, DH1 3HW 
			 Exeter Combined Court Centre Southernhay Gardens, Exeter, EX4 3TH 
			 Gloucester Crown Court Shire Hall, Gloucester, GL1 2TG 
			 Great Grimsby Combined Court Town Hall Square, Grimsby, DN31 1HX 
			 Guildford Crown Court Bedford Road, Guildford, GUI 4ST 
			 Harrow Crown Court Hailsham Drive, Harrow, HA1 4TU 
			 Haverfordwest Crown, Magistrates and County Court Penffynnon, Haverfordwest, SA61 2AZ 
			 Hereford Crown Court Shire Hall, Hereford, HR1 2HW 
			 Hove Trial Centre The Court House, Hove, BN3 3BN 
			 Hull Combined Court Lowgate, Hull , HU1 2EZ 
			 Inner London Sessions House (Swan Street) Swan Street, London, SE1 1DF 
			 Ipswich Criminal Justice Centre Chancery Road, Ipswich, IP1 2DX 
			 Isleworth Crown Court 36 Ridgeway Road, Isleworth, TW7 5LP 
			 Kings Lynn Crown and Magistrates Court 1 St. Margarets Place, Kings Lynn, PE30 1PQ 
			 Kingston Upon Thames Crown Court 6-8 Penryn Road, Kingston, KT1 2BB 
			 Knutsford Crown Court County Sessions House, Knutsford, WA16 0PB 
			 Lancaster Crown Court The Castle, Lancaster, LA1 1YJ 
			 Leeds Combined Court 1 Oxford Row, Leeds, LSI 3BG 
			 Leicester Crown Court 90 Wellington Street, Leicester, LEI 6HG 
			 Lewes Combined Court 182 High Street, Lewes, BN7 1YB 
			 Lincoln Crown Court The Castle Courthouse, Lincoln, LN1 3DA 
			 Liverpool Combined Court QEII Law Courts, Liverpool, L2 1XA 
			 Luton Crown Court 7/9 George Street, Luton, LU1 2AA 
			 Maidstone Combined Court Barker Road, Maidstone, ME16 8EQ 
			 Manchester Crown and County Courts Courts Of Justice, Manchester, M60 9DJ 
			 Manchester Crown Court Minshull Street, Manchester, Ml 3FS 
			 Merthyr Tydfil Combined Court Glebeland Place, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 8BH 
			 Mold Combined Court Centre Shirehall, Mold, CH7 1AE 
			 Newcastle Crown Court (Law Courts) The Law Courts, Newcastle, NE1 3LA 
			 Newport (IoW) Court Centre Quay Street , Newport , PO30 5BB 
			 Newport Crown Court Faulkner Road, Newport, NP9 4PD 
			 Northampton Combined Court 85-87 Ladys Lane, Northampton, NN1 3HQ 
			 Norwich Combined Court Bishopgate, Norwich, NR3 1UR 
			 Nottingham Crown and County Court 60 Canal Street, Nottingham, NG1 7EJ 
			 Oxford Combined Court Centre 62-74 St. Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1TL 
			 Peterborough Combined Court Rivergate, Peterborough, PE1 1EJ 
			 Plymouth Combined Court Armada Way, Plymouth, PL1 2ER 
			 Portsmouth Combined Court The Courts of Justice, Portsmouth, PO1 2DL 
			 Preston Crown Court Sessions House, Preston, PR1 2PD 
			 Reading Crown Court Old Shire Hall, Reading, RG1 3EH 
			 Salisbury Combined Court Alexandra House, Salisbury, SP1 2PJ 
			 Sheffield Combined Court The Law Courts, Sheffield, S3 8PH 
			 Shrewsbury Crown Court Shire Hall, Shrewsbury, SY2 6LU 
			 Snaresbrook Crown Court Hollybush Hill, London, E11 1QW 
			 Southampton Combined Court London Road, Southampton, SO9 5AF 
			 Southend Magistrates Court 80 Victoria Avenue, Southend-On-Sea , SS2 6EG 
			 Southwark Crown Court 1 English Grounds, London, SE1 2HU 
			 St. Albans Crown Court Bricket Road, St. Albans, AL1 3JY 
			 Stafford Combined Court Victoria Square, Stafford, ST16 2QQ 
			 Stoke On Trent Combined Court Bethesda Street, Stoke on Trent, ST1 3BP 
			 Swansea Crown Court The Guildhall, Swansea, SA1 4PE 
			 Swindon Combined Court Islington Road, Swindon, SN1 2HG 
			 Taunton Combined Court The Shire Hall, Taunton, TA1 4EN 
			 Teesside Combined Court Russell Street, Middlesbrough, TS1 1AE 
			 Truro Combined Court Courts of Justice, Truro, TR1 2PB 
			 Warrington Combined Court Legh Street, Warrington, WA1 1UR 
			 Warwick Combined Court Shire Hall, Warwick, CV34 4SP 
			 Welshpool Crown and County Court Mansion House, Welshpool, SY21 7UX 
			 Weymouth and Dorchester Combined Court County Hall, Dorchester, DT1 1XJ 
			 Winchester Combined Court The Law Courts, Winchester, SO23 9EL 
			 Wolverhampton Combined Court Pipers Row, Wolverhampton, WV1 3LQ 
			 Wood Green Crown Court Woodhall House, London, N22 5LF 
			 Woolwich Crown Court 2 Belmarsh Road, London, SE28 0EY 
			 Worcester Combined Court Shire Hall, Worcester, WR1 1TR 
			 York Crown Court The Castle, York, YO1 9WZ 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B 
			  Post  Total 
			 Lords Appeal in Ordinary 12 
			 Heads of Division (excluding the Lord Chancellor) 4 
			 Lord Justices of Appeal 37 
			 High Court Judges 108 
			 Circuit Judges (inc. TCC) 639 
			 Recorders 1,206 
			 District Judges (inc. Family Division) 450 
			 Deputy District Judges (inc. Family Division) 780 
			 District Judges (MC) 139 
			 Deputy District Judges 169 
			 Total 3,544

Data Protection

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the Government's response was to the European Commission's infringement letter indicating that the UK's data protection law was deficient and that data protection Directive 95/46/EC had not been implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: The European Commission, as part of its review of the implementation of the 1995 Data Protection Directive by each member state, is in discussion with the UK Government on a number of issues. Disclosing the details of those discussions at this stage would prejudice negotiations between the UK and the Commission and so prejudice UK interests. We believe that the UK has properly implemented the Data Protection Directive via the Data Protection Act 1998 and other relevant provisions of UK law.

Departmental Reorganisation

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the total cost of creating his Department.

Maria Eagle: The estimate of costs incurred to create the new Ministry was estimated at £1.5 million. These costs represented mainly IT and estate activity incurred at the time the new Ministry was created in May 2007 to ensure the new Ministry could operate effectively.
	Post initial set-up, the new Ministry is taking forward many initiatives which represent normal activity required to run a large delivery Department and maintain and develop its systems. Specific work is under way, for example, to develop the organisational structure and operating model in use across the Ministry.
	Much of this activity would have been necessary within either the previous Department for Constitutional Affairs or the Home Office. It is therefore not possible to identify any specific incremental costs arising as a result of the creation of the Ministry.
	All costs are being absorbed within the Ministry's budget.

Driving Offences: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) speeding and  (b) dangerous driving offences were recorded in Gloucestershire in each year since 1979.

Maria Eagle: Available information held by my Department for the Gloucestershire police force area, from 1980 to 2005 (latest available) is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Motoring offences dealt with within Gloucestershire police force area, 1980-2005 
			  Number of offences 
			   Speed limit offences( 1)  Dangerous driving offences( 2) 
			   Written warnings  Fixed penalty notices( 3)  Court proceedings( 4,5)  Total dealt with  Written warnings  Fixed penalty notices( 3)  Court proceedings( 4,5)  Total dealt with 
			 1980 166 (6)— 7,305 7,471 1 (6)— 21 22 
			 1981 203 (6)— 7,287 7,490 0 (6)— 17 17 
			 1982 89 (6)— 6,446 6,535 1 (6)— 25 26 
			 1983 154 (6)— 6,697 6,851 0 (6)— 42 42 
			 1984 151 (6)— 6,073 6,224 0 (6)— 54 54 
			 1985 65 (6)— 5,291 5,356 4 (6)— 42 46 
			 1986 99 1,265 7,207 8,571 3 (6)— 44 47 
			 1987 30 5,467 4,376 9,873 2 (6)— 55 57 
			 1988 29 4,126 4,148 8,303 0 (6)— 82 82 
			 1989 36 3,959 2,460 6,455 6 (6)— 72 78 
			 1990 69 6,020 3,639 9,728 13 (6)— 54 67 
			 1991 39 8,417 5,084 13,540 4 (6)— 79 83 
			 1992 72 6,921 3,570 10,563 0 (6)— 78 78 
			 1993 53 4,059 1,912 6,024 7 (6)— 84 91 
			 1994 56 5,611 2,005 7,672 3 (6)— 94 97 
			 1995 21 4,774 2,627 7,422 0 (6)— 88 88 
			 1996 7 4,538 3,586 8,131 4 (6)— 63 67 
			 1997 32 6,260 2,369 8,661 2 (6)— 95 97 
			 1998 4 8,714 2,120 10,838 0 (6)— 138 138 
			 1999 5 6,268 1,823 8,096 1 (6)— 132 133 
			 2000 28 5,781 2,675 8,484 0 (6)— 99 99 
			 2001 102 4,097 2,323 6,522 0 (6)— 126 126 
			 2002 2 3,898 1,319 5,219 0 (6)— 102 102 
			 2003 10 3,139 1,190 4,339 0 (6)— 107 107 
			 2004 4 4,913 1,107 6,024 0 (6)— 105 105 
			 2005 16 10,849 1,050 11,915 0 (6)— 115 115 
			 (1) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973.  (2) Offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 2 as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991 s. 2.  (3) Fixed penalty notices paid i.e. no further action.  (4) Will include fixed penalty notices issued but not paid and referred to court.  (5) From 1980-1997 findings of guilt at all courts, numbers of court proceedings are not available. From 1998 onwards covers total proceedings at magistrates courts.  (6) Not applicable.   Notes:  1. It is known that for some police force areas the reporting of court proceedings, in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete.  2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces and the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Fixed Penalties: Drunkenness

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of revenue likely to arise from fixed penalty fines levied on people found drunk in public houses in the next 12 months.

David Hanson: No estimate has been made. Under the Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND) Scheme, police can issue fixed penalties of £50 to persons found drunk in a public place. However, data on the exact location where the offence took place are not collected.

Office of the Information Commissioner: Finance

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 303-4W, on the Office of the Information Commissioner: finance, if he will review the appropriateness of the funding arrangements for the information responsibilities of the Information Commissioner's Office.

Michael Wills: The Information Commissioner's data protection work is funded by the retention of notification fees paid by data controllers under section 26 of the Data Protection Act 1998. My Department continues to engage constructively with him on the resource implications of the additional inspection powers announced by the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1179. My Department provides a yearly grant in aid for his freedom of information work, and there are no plans to review this arrangement.

Police Custody: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) police cells and  (b) custody suites in West Chelmsford constituency were occupied by prisoners remanded in custody by the courts in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Hanson: Between 12 October 2006 and 30 November 2007 prisoners were held in police cells under Operation Safeguard in West Chelmsford on the nights of 22 January, 23 April and 21 May. On these dates, the number of prisoners held were one, two and one respectively.

Prison Service: Public Appointments

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what information is used by the Deputy Director General of HM Prison Service in authorising managed moves; who is responsible for providing that information; how he establishes whether there are exceptional circumstances to warrant a managed move; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Appointments within the operational senior manager grade are authorised by the Deputy Director General in his position as Chair of the Succession Planning Committee. Managed appointments are made on the basis of information and knowledge from a number of sources, including line managers and the Resourcing and Talent Management teams within the HR Directorate.
	The policy on managed appointments is published in Prison Service Order 8110. There is no requirement for the circumstances to be exceptional to warrant a managed appointment.

Prison Service: Racism

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the policy is of HM Prison Service on the employment of members of organisations it classes as racist.

Maria Eagle: HM Prison Service has a policy of prohibiting people who work for it from being members of groups or organisations considered to have racist philosophies, principles, aims or policies.

Prison Service: Racism

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which organisations HM Prison Service classes as racist.

Maria Eagle: HM Prison Service has a policy of prohibiting people who work for it from being members of groups or organisations considered to have racist philosophies, principles, aims or policies. In particular, no one working for HMPS can be a member of the British National party (BNP), the National Front, Combat 18 or any other group or organisation promoting racism. It is important to note that these groups are cited as examples and are not an exhaustive or definitive list.

Prisoners

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the prisoner to officer ratio was at each prison establishment at the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The prisoner to officer ratio for each prison at the end of October is shown in the table. The data are provisional and subject to in year validation.
	The following table shows the prisoner to officer ratio at the end of October 2007.
	
		
			  Establishment name  Population  All Officer grades  Prisoner to officer ratio 
			 Acklington 876 236 3.71 - 1 
			 Albany 527 150 3.51 - 1 
			 Ashwell 540 104 5.19 - 1 
			 Askham Grange 113 29 3.90 - 1 
			 Aylesbury 443 182 2.43 - 1 
			 Bedford 484 152 3.18 - 1 
			 Belmarsh 914 520 1.76 - 1 
			 Birmingham 1,452 525 2.77 - 1 
			 Blakenhurst 1,069 259 4.13 - 1 
			 Blantyre House 119 36 3.31 - 1 
			 Blundeston 462 149 3.10 - 1 
			 Brinsford 470 245 1.92 - 1 
			 Bristol 604 230 2.63 - 1 
			 Brixton 806 220 3.66 - 1 
			 Brockhill 167 76 2.20 - 1 
			 Buckley Hall 382 107 3.57 - 1 
			 Bullingdon 966 235 4.11 - 1 
			 Bullwood Hall 178 77 2.31 - 1 
			 Camp Hill 598 161 3.71 - 1 
			 Canterbury 282 109 2.59 - 1 
			 Cardiff 755 257 2.94 - 1 
			 Castington 401 217 1.85 - 1 
			 Channings Wood 726 182 3.99 - 1 
			 Chelmsford 705 226 3.12 - 1 
			 Coldingley 390 96 4.06 - 1 
			 Dartmoor 638 175 3.65 - 1 
			 Deerbolt 449 188 2.39 - 1 
			 Dorchester 226 110 2.05 - 1 
			 Dover 308 123 2.50 - 1 
			 Downview 354 120 2.95 - 1 
			 Drake Hall 286 92 3.11 - 1 
			 Durham 949 333 2.85 - 1 
			 East Sutton Park 87 20 4.35 - 1 
			 Eastwood Park 333 152 2.19 - 1 
			 Edmunds Hill 361 126 2.87 - 1 
			 Erlestoke 403 114 3.54 - 1 
			 Everthorpe 672 177 3.80 - 1 
			 Exeter 484 188 2.57 - 1 
			 Featherstone 668 157 4.25 - 1 
			 Feltham 595 398 1.49 - 1 
			 Ford 468 58 8.07 - 1 
			 Foston Hall 265 153 1.73 - 1 
			 Frankland 724 593 1.22 - 1 
			 Full Sutton 581 478 1.22 - 1 
			 Garth 682 290 2.35 - 1 
			 Gartree 572 212 2.70 - 1 
			 Glen Parva 812 266 3.05 - 1 
			 Gloucester 302 123 2.46 - 1 
			 Grendon 530 142 3.73 - 1 
			 Guys Marsh 556 131 4.24 - 1 
			 Haslar 119 52 2.29 - 1 
			 Haverigg 556 141 3.94 - 1 
			 Hewell Grange 152 31 4.90 - 1 
			 High Down 746 243 3.07 - 1 
			 Highpoint 809 188 4.30 - 1 
			 Hindley 504 224 2.25 - 1 
			 Hollesley Bay 322 52 6.19 - 1 
			 Holloway 469 267 1.76 - 1 
			 Holme House 1,005 308 3.26 - 1 
			 Hull 1,035 331 3.13 - 1 
			 Huntercombe 360 159 2.26 - 1 
			 Kennet 336 131 2.56 - 1 
			 Kingston 198 75 2.64 - 1 
			 Kirkham 539 93 5.80 - 1 
			 Kirklevington 224 45 4.98 - 1 
			 Lancaster 175 88 1.99 - 1 
			 Lancaster Farms 496 248 2.00 - 1 
			 Latchmere House 203 35 5.80 - 1 
			 Leeds 1,025 388 2.64 - 1 
			 Leicester 349 138 2.53 - 1 
			 Lewes 516 170 3.04 - 1 
			 Leyhill 397 74 5.36 - 1 
			 Lincoln 738 213 3.46 - 1 
			 Lindholme 1,018 249 4.09 - 1 
			 Littlehey 698 157 4.45 - 1 
			 Liverpool 1,389 418 3.32 - 1 
			 Long Lartin 416 368 1.13 - 1 
			 Low Newton 300 157 1.91 - 1 
			 Maidstone 479 156 3.07 - 1 
			 Manchester 1,240 504 2.46 - 1 
			 Moorland 1,038 333 3.12 - 1 
			 Morton Hall 347 114 3.04 - 1 
			 Mount 760 171 4.44 - 1 
			 New Hall 398 216 1.84 - 1 
			 North Sea Camp 273 58 4.71 - 1 
			 Northallerton 245 65 3.77 - 1 
			 Norwich 523 211 2.48 - 1 
			 Nottingham 555 224 2.48 - 1 
			 Onley 644 203 3.17 - 1 
			 Parkhurst 523 188 2.78 - 1 
			 Pentonville 1,150 370 3.11 - 1 
			 Portland 543 206 2.64 - 1 
			 Preston 733 263 2.79 - 1 
			 Ranby 1,040 259 4.02 - 1 
			 Reading 279 116 2.41 - 1 
			 Risley 1,084 290 3.74 - 1 
			 Rochester 391 172 2.27 - 1 
			 Send 207 77 2.69 - 1 
			 Sheppey Cluster 2,171 617 3.52 - 1 
			 Shepton Mallet 189 66 2.86 - 1 
			 Shrewsbury 329 111 2.96 - 1 
			 Stafford 670 174 3.85 - 1 
			 Stocken 661 176 3.76 - 1 
			 Stoke Heath 611 252 2.42 - 1 
			 Styal 452 196 2.31 - 1 
			 Sudbury 559 65 8.60 - 1 
			 Swansea 423 154 2.75 - 1 
			 Swinfen Hall 618 210 2.94 - 1 
			 Thorn Cross 228 119 1.92 - 1 
			 Usk\Prescoed 385 92 4.18 - 1 
			 Verne 590 117 5.04 - 1 
			 Wakefield 743 439 1.69 - 1 
			 Wandsworth 1,485 392 3.79 - 1 
			 Warren Hill 205 144 1.42 - 1 
			 Wayland 695 184 3.78 - 1 
			 Wealstun 842 206 4.09 - 1 
			 Wellingborough 640 178 3.60 - 1 
			 Werrington 144 84 1.71 - 1 
			 Wetherby 365 176 2.07 - 1 
			 Whatton 760 221 3.44 - 1 
			 Whitemoor 462 437 1.06 - 1 
			 Winchester 550 190 2.89 - 1 
			 Woodhill 815 430 1.90 - 1 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 1,254 320 3.92 - 1 
			 Wymott 1,054 277 3.81 - 1

Prisoners: Foreigners

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners are being held  (a) on indeterminate sentence for public protection after the expiry of their tariff,  (b) on life sentences after expiry of their tariff,  (c) on determinate sentences beyond the date at which they would be eligible for release or parole and  (d) beyond the expiry of their sentence.

David Hanson: Regarding  (a), and  (b), information on the numbers of prisoners held beyond their tariff is not available centrally as tariff is not recorded as part of the standard datasets. Determining the number of such prisoners who are foreign nationals would require examination of individual case files and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. Regarding  (c), I refer the hon. and learned Gentleman to the answer given on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 754-5W, to the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (John Penrose).
	In regard to  (d) about time-served prisoners, information is not held centrally. It would also require the examination of case files and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. I also refer the hon. and learned Member to my answer on 29 October 2007,  Official Report, column 809W.

Prisons: Pay

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 16 May 2007,  Official Report, column 787W, on Prison Service: pay, for what reason the information on breaches of the regulations is not collected by HM Prison Service Professional Standards Unit Investigations Support Unit; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The role of Investigation Support Section (ISS) is to record and track formal investigations when terms of reference are submitted by the Commissioning Manager.
	ISS allocates each investigation registered to a category and one such category is fraud. However, data are not stored in the format requested in the previous question and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Sexual Offences: Sentencing

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people serving indeterminate sentences with a tariff of under 24 months were convicted of sexual offences against children.

David Hanson: A research study into prisoners received into prisons in England and Wales under Indeterminate Sentences for Public Protection (IPP) between April 2005 and March 2006, showed that 26 offenders were given an IPP with tariff of less than 24 months for sexual offences against children.
	This figure has been drawn from administrative IT systems and data returns from prison establishments. It is possible that this total does not include all relevant offences because the offence details held within the prison IT system do not always include the victim's age.

Victims: Compensation

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much has been raised from victims surcharge on fines payable in magistrates courts since its introduction on 1 April;
	(2)  who is responsible for  (a) distributing and  (b) administering the proceeds of the victims surcharge;
	(3)  to whom in each parliamentary constituency the proceeds from victims surcharge has been distributed since 1 April.

Maria Eagle: As at 31 October 2007, £1,078,621 had been raised from the collection of the victims surcharge since its introduction on 1 April.
	The Home and Justice Secretaries and the Attorney-General are jointly responsible for deciding how revenue raised by the surcharge should be allocated. Distribution and administration in accordance with Ministers' wishes is effected by officials in the relevant Departments.
	Receipts from the surcharge have been appropriated in aid as part of the Ministry of Justice Estimates for 2007-08. The Ministry of Justice makes allocations from the estimates to recipient organisations or other Departments as appropriate. Full details of how surcharge revenue is being used were given in my answer of 26 November 2007,  Official Report, column 96W, to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies).

Young Offender Institutions: Restraint Techniques

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many injuries were incurred by boys held in  (a) Feltham,  (b) Foston Hall,  (c) Hindley and  (d) Huntercombe Young Offender Institution as a result of control and restraint in each month in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007; and if he will give details of each injury sustained.

Maria Eagle: At Feltham one boy sustained an injury during use of force in September 2006 and one in July 2007 recorded as "bang to the head" and "swelling to left wrist" respectively. Foston Hall held no male young offenders during 2006-07. Information on Hindley for 2006 and January 2007 was not recorded in a central database and would require disproportionate resource to collate the information. However, the following information on serious injuries obtained as a result of use of force was reported and managed through the child protection procedures:
	
		
			  Month  Injury 
			 March 2006 Broken wrist 
			 September 2006 Broken wrist 
			 September 2006 Bruising 
		
	
	In February 2007, new reporting systems were implemented which provide the following information.
	
		
			  2007  Minor injury (no treatment required)  Minor injury (medical treatment required)  Serious injury requiring hospital treatment 
			 February 2 0 0 
			 March 7 0 0 
			 April 9 0 0 
			 May 4 2 0 
			 June 6 1 0 
			 July 18 2 0 
			 August 8 0 0 
			 September 10 3 0 
			 October 5 0 0 
		
	
	Information for Huntercombe is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   January-December 
			  Description  2006  2007 
			 Discomfort/Swelling (Muscles and Tendons) 1 6 
			 Bruising 8 4 
			 Grazes and Scratches 5 3 
			 Cuts 1 1 
			 Total 15 14

Young Offender Institutions: Restraint Techniques

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many injuries were incurred by girls held in  (a) Down View Young Offender Institution and  (b) Eastwood Park Young Offender Institution as a result of control and restraint in each month in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007; and if he will give details of each injury sustained.

Maria Eagle: The Prison Service definition of 'girls' in the context of prisoners is those aged 15-17. The information for Downview and Eastwood Park is set out in the following tables.
	
		
			  Downview 
			   Number 
			  2006  
			 January 0 
			   
			 February 2 carpet burns to elbows 
			  1 shoulder pain 
			  1 small abrasion to upper arm 
			  1 superficial injury to arms 
			  1 injured finger 
			  1 bruising to wrist 
			  1 bruise to right hand 
			  1 injured tooth 
			   
			 March 1 red marks to wrist 
			  1 carpet burn to face 
			   
			 May 1 scratch to eye 
			   
			 June 1 bruising to wrists 
			  1 strained wrists 
			   
			 August 0 
			   
			 October 0 
			   
			 November 1 cut finger 
			  1 swelling to wrist 
			   
			 Total 16 
			   
			  2007  
			 January 1 bruised rib 
			   
			 February 1 cuts to hands 
			  1 swollen right arm 
			   
			 March 1 scratch to head 
			  1 swollen face 
			  1 bruised shoulder 
			  1 carpet burn to right arm 
			   
			 May 0 
			   
			 June 1 bruising to arms 
			  1 wrist bruising 
			  1 wrist swollen 
			  1 bruised fingers 
			  1 scratch to cheek 
			   
			 August 1 bumped forehead 
			  1 slight laceration to left arm 
			   
			 October 2 nose bleeds 
			   
			 November 0 
			   
			 Total 16 
		
	
	
		
			  Eastwood Park 
			   Number 
			  2006  
			 January 1 minor bruise 
			   
			 February 2 minor bruisings 
			   
			 May 1 minor bruise 
			   
			 September 0 
			   
			 October 0 
			   
			 Total 4 
			   
			  2007  
			 January 0 
			   
			 February 0 
			   
			 May 0 
			   
			 September 1 painful ankle 
			  1 painful wrist 
			   
			 October 1 painful shoulder 
			  1 painful wrist 
			  1 lip/minor bleeding from piercing (probably from violent act of self harm) 
			   
			 Total 5

Young Offenders

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) receptions to and  (b) releases from young offender institutions located (i) nationally and (ii) in London took place in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: Young Offender Institutions accommodate sentenced prisoners aged from 15 to 21. The following table shows the number of sentenced young offenders received into prison establishments in England and Wales in each year from 2002 to 2005, broken down into those sentenced by courts in London and those sentenced by courts outside of London.
	
		
			   All  London  Outside London 
			 2002 20,239 2,903 17,336 
			 2003 18,181 2,494 15,687 
			 2004 18,264 2,493 15,771 
			 2005 17,819 2,466 15,353 
			 2006 17,985 2,631 15,354 
		
	
	We do not currently have consistent data to compare releases with receptions but expect to have reliable data for 2007 in early 2008.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

TREASURY

Academies

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what role his Department is playing in the review of the academies programme; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 916W. Treasury officials are working closely with PMDU and DCSF officials, both in carrying out the review and overseeing the review.

Child Benefit Agency: Expenditure

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Child Benefit Office has spent on  (a) potted plants,  (b) taxis and  (c) staff parties in the last five years for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 27 November
	The information is as follows.
	 (a) Child Benefit Office has spent nothing on potted plants;
	 (b) Information is only available at disproportionate cost; and
	 (c) I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 October 2007,  Official Report, column 29W.

Child Benefit Agency: Visits Abroad

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Child Benefit Agency spent on staff travel overseas in the last 12 month period for which figures are available; and which destinations were travelled to.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 27 November 2007
	It has been necessary for one child benefit official to travel overseas on official business, to Belgium, in the 12 month period ending 30 November 2007. The cost of air travel and hotel accommodation was reimbursed by the European Commission and the net cost to the Department for other travel and subsistence costs necessarily incurred on those trips was £104.06.

Child Benefit: Databases

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the helpline number 0845 302 1444 for enquiring about child benefit database concerns is a premium rate line; if he will ensure that people are able to call the helpline at local tariff rates; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: This is not a premium rate line. HMRC policy is to operate customer facing helplines using an 0845 prefix rather than premium rate lines. The cost of calls to 0845 and other non geographic numbers is dependent on several factors. Calls are charged to the customer based on the tariff arrangements they have with their service provider, the device they use for the call and the location from which they call.

Child Benefit: Northamptonshire

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many child benefit claimants there are in  (a) Northamptonshire and  (b) Kettering constituency.

Jane Kennedy: Figures showing the number of families receiving child benefit at regional and parliamentary constituency level for the UK are published on the HMRC website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child benefit/geographical.htm

Child Benefit: Personal Records

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information the National Audit Office (NAO) is entitled to request from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on child benefit claims; and by what mechanisms such information is provided to the NAO by HMRC.

Jane Kennedy: The NAO derive their authority from four main Acts of Parliament; these are the Exchequer and Audit Department Acts 1866 and 1921, the National Audit (NAO) Act 1983 and the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000. They have a right of access at all reasonable times to all official documents that they reasonably require for the purposes of their audit. The mechanisms by which such information is provided to the NAO vary according to the request.
	On 13 November HMRC initiated immediate increased security with a new process:
	transfers will now only take place if they are absolutely necessary;
	written authorisation for the transfer has to be given by senior HMRC manager; and
	a clear instruction has been given regarding the appropriate standard of protection for the transfer.
	Where directors decide that a data transfer by disc is unavoidable such media must, in every case, be securely encrypted at the appropriate level.
	On 20 November the Chancellor announced an independent review of HMRC's data handling procedures to be conducted by Kieran Poynter, the chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Child Benefit: Personal Records

Christopher Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information from the child benefit database was requested by the National Audit Office from HM Revenue and Customs in October; and in what respect the information sent in response was more extensive that that requested.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 26 November 2007
	There is an ongoing Metropolitan Police investigation into the matter, and the Chancellor has appointed Kieran Poynter, chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers, to investigate HMRC's security processes and procedures for data handling. As part of his review Kieran Poynter has been asked to produce an interim report by 14 December.

Child Benefit: Personal Records

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the measures HM Revenue and Customs have taken to  (a) prevent,  (b) detect and  (c) prosecute identity theft related to tax credit awards.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 26 November 2007
	HM Revenue and Customs have robust strategies in place for tackling fraud including a range of checks throughout the life of each claim. They continually refine and develop their processes to ensure they stay one step ahead of those who seek to de-fraud the system and respond quickly when new threats are identified.
	HMRC have embedded compliance specialists in contact centres to provide additional support and specialist knowledge and raise fraud awareness.
	If fraud is suspected, payments are stopped. HMRC always investigate allegations of fraud and can and do prosecute.

Child Benefit: Personal Records

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the grade was of the HM Revenue and Customs official who downloaded and posted discs containing confidential child benefit information.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the statement given in the House by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 20 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 1101-04. It would be inappropriate to provide further information relating to this issue as there is an ongoing Metropolitan Police Service investigation.

Child Benefit: Personal Records

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the role of TNT in the loss of two discs containing personal details of families claiming tax credits; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to search for the missing discs containing information about families claiming tax credits.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 26 November 2007
	No tax credit data was lost on the two discs in question.
	There is an ongoing police investigation in relation to the loss of discs containing child benefit data. The police are conducting searches and the priority remains to find the missing data.

Child Benefit Helpline

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many calls there were to HM Revenue and Custom's Child Benefit Helpline on each day since 19 September 2007.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 26 November 2007
	The following table provides HMRC's best current estimate of all calls handled by the child benefit helpline on each day from 19 September 2007 until 21 November 2007 inclusive.
	
		
			  Date  Calls handled 
			 19 September 2007 16,678 
			 20 September 2007 16,203 
			 21 September 2007 16,096 
			 22 September 2007 2,764 
			 23 September 2007 1,677 
			 24 September 2007 20,024 
			 25 September 2007 18,073 
			 26 September 2007 17,305 
			 27 September 2007 16,748 
			 28 September 2007 14,765 
			 29 September 2007 2,343 
			 30 September 2007 1,222 
			 1 October 2007 20,868 
			 2 October 2007 18,778 
			 3 October 2007 16,767 
			 4 October 2007 15,842 
			 5 October 2007 13,377 
			 6 October 2007 2,098 
			 7 October 2007 949 
			 8 October 2007 19,979 
			 9 October 2007 17,583 
			 10 October 2007 16,134 
			 11 October 2007 15,129 
			 12 October 2007 13,112 
			 13 October 2007 2,458 
			 14 October 2007 902 
			 15 October 2007 20,724 
			 16 October 2007 18,973 
			 17 October 2007 15,736 
			 18 October 2007 14,826 
			 19 October 2007 13,536 
			 20 October 2007 2,349 
			 21 October 2007 896 
			 22 October 2007 19,240 
			 23 October 2007 15,505 
			 24 October 2007 13,656 
			 25 October 2007 13,101 
			 26 October 2007 12,193 
			 27 October 2007 2,360 
			 28 October 2007 906 
			 29 October 2007 19,003 
			 30 October 2007 17,171 
			 31 October 2007 14,377 
			 1 November 2007 14,073 
			 2 November 2007 13,210 
			 3 November 2007 2,243 
			 4 November 2007 912 
			 5 November 2007 19,220 
			 6 November 2007 17,069 
			 7 November 2007 15,367 
			 8 November 2007 14,790 
			 9 November 2007 12,898 
			 10 November 2007 2,668 
			 11 November 2007 1,006 
			 12 November 2007 18,237 
			 13 November 2007 17,317 
			 14 November 2007 15,115 
			 15 November 2007 14,457 
			 16 November 2007 13,065 
			 17 November 2007 2,052 
			 18 November 2007 963 
			 19 November 2007 17,880 
			 20 November 2007 21,742 
			 21 November 2007 38,382

Child Benefit: Pregnant Women

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his announcement of child benefits in pregnancy in his 2006 pre-Budget Speech, if he will place in the Library copies of  (a) representations he has received and  (b) minutes of meetings he has held on that policy since that date.

Jane Kennedy: Representations received on the Health in Pregnancy Grant since the 2006 pre-Budget report are contained in the Treasury's 14 November 2007 press notice on the grant, on the HM Treasury website. Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Child Care Tax Credit

Karen Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households were in receipt of childcare tax credit in each local authority in England in April 2007.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available at this date.
	The latest information available on the average number of families benefiting from the childcare element of working tax credit, by local authority, is published in the HMRC statistical publication "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics. Finalised Awards 2005-06. Geographical analyses", which is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm
	The same information for 2006-07 is due to be published in May 2008.

Departmental Computers

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of his Department's  (a) computers and  (b) laptops have been stolen in 2007; and what the value of those items was.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC records show that seven computer base units and 45 laptop computers were reported stolen between 1 January 2007 and 28 November 2007, 16 of them during a break in at one of HMRC's offices. The cost of replacement is approximately £43,000.
	HMT records show that six laptop computers were reported stolen in 2007. The cost of replacement is approximately £4,000. No other computers were recorded as stolen.

Departmental Data Protection

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of encrypting all sensitive e-mails sent from his Department.

Jane Kennedy: The costs of encrypting e-mails sent from HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs is not available. These costs are included in the overall costs of the services provided.

Departmental Databases

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when each electronic database in his Department containing personal information on members of the public was first created.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost.

EU Budget

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's most recent estimate is of the levels of  (a) fraud and  (b) waste in expenditure under the EU budget in 2007.

Kitty Ussher: Table 1 (page 5) of the European Anti Fraud Office's (OLAF) fight against fraud report in respect of 2006 estimated the levels of fraud in that year. The Government's EU expenditure reform priorities include the phasing out of CAP direct payments by 2020, and Structural and Cohesion Funds, of which in 2007 60 per cent. of spending is still going to richer member states.

EU Budget

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much underspend there was on the European Communities annual budget in each year since 1997; and how much of that underspend was  (a) carried over into the following year's budget,  (b) returned to member states and  (c) returned to the United Kingdom.

Kitty Ussher: All EC budget surpluses are returned to member states in the following year.
	The surpluses and the GNI-shares on which they are returned to member states are detailed annually in Amending Budgets published in the  Official Journal of the European Union—the most recent of which is Amending Budget 3/2007 ( O fficial Journal of the European Union(1)/203 Budget 3/2007).
	(1) http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm.

EU Law: Insurance

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to ensure that European Union legislation on the regulation of the commercial insurance brokerage industry is not gold-plated in its implementation by the Financial Services Authority.

Kitty Ussher: The regulation of commercial insurance brokerage is ultimately a matter for the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA is independent from the Government although subject to the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).
	The FSA has an obligation under FSMA to undertake cost-benefit analysis of any proposed new rule. The FSA has committed to go beyond the minimum standards necessary when implementing EU law on financial services only where a demonstrably convincing case can be made.
	The FSA is currently looking at its general insurance regime through a review of its Insurance: Conduct of Business (ICOB) rules. In particular it is looking at those ICOB rules that require firms to go beyond the minimum necessary to comply with the relevant EU Directives.

Foreigners: Greater London

Boris Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many non-UK domiciled persons became resident in London in each of the last 10 years for  (a) fewer than 12 months and  (b) more than 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available.

HM Revenue and Customs

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his statement of 20 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 1101-2, on HM Revenue and Customs, how many of the individuals' records missing in the transfer of information from HM Revenue and Customs are  (a) current and  (b) former claimants of child benefit.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 29 November 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement given in the House by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 20 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 1101-04.

Income Tax

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the percentage of income tax payable which was collected in  (a) Scotland and  (b) the UK in 2007.

Jane Kennedy: Information on income tax liabilities in Scotland and the UK can be found in table 3.11 "Income and tax by gender, region and country" on the HM Revenue and Customs website.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/menu.htm
	The information is based on the Survey of Personal Incomes, of which 2004-05 is the latest available.
	The Scottish Executive produce estimates of tax revenues attributable to Scotland in their publication "Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland". These are published at:
	http://www.scottishexecutive.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/159996/0043602.pdf

Inheritance Tax

Brian Iddon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the cost of raising the inheritance tax threshold to £1 million while maintaining the married couples transferable allowance over the comprehensive spending review period.

Jane Kennedy: Raising the inheritance tax nil rate band to £1,000,000 with effect from 2008-09 would have the following impact on forecast revenue receipts:
	
		
			  Estimated reduction in revenue arising from raising the nil rate band to £1,000,000 
			  £ billion 
			   Retaining transferable allowances 
			 2008-09 1 
			 2009-10 2 
			 2010-11 2

Inheritance Tax

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated cost to the Exchequer would be of raising the individual inheritance tax allowance to £1,000,000 if  (a) allowances were transferable between spouses and civil partners as announced in the 2007 pre-Budget report and  (b) the system operated as it did prior to the changes announced in the 2007 pre-Budget report in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Jane Kennedy: Raising the inheritance tax nil rate band to £1,000,000 with effect from 2008-09 would have the following impact on forecast revenue receipts:
	
		
			  Estimated reduction in revenue arising from raising the nil rate band to £1,000,000 
			  £ billion 
			   (a) Retaining transferable allowances  (b) Removing transferable allowances 
			 2008-09 1.0 0.5 
			 2009-10 2.0 1.5 
			 2010-11 2.0 1.5

Members: Correspondence

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letters from the right hon. Member for North-East Hampshire of 23 June 2006, 1 September 2006, 29 November 2006 and 20 June 2007 on the tax credit problems of the right hon. Member's constituent Mrs. Adair.

Jane Kennedy: The chairman of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) wrote to the right hon. Member about his constituent's case on 27 November.

National Insurance Contributions: Females

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason women who had stopped receiving deficiency notices prior to 1996-97 and who did not receive a letter in 2004-05 as part of the deficiency notice recovery programme were allowed to pay class 3 national insurance contributions on favourable terms in respect of the years from 1996-97 to 2001-02 inclusive.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 29 November 2007
	When deficiency notices were re-instated, legislation (SI 2004/1362) was introduced, allowing for Class 3 contributions for tax years 1996-97 to 2001-02 to be paid until 5 April 2009 (or 5 April 2010 if the contributor reached pensionable age before 24 October 2004) and allowing them to be paid at the rate in force for the tax year concerned.
	Contributors are entitled to pay contributions on these terms for reasons of practicality and to reduce the administrative burden.

National Insurance Contributions: Holiday Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  on what basis he decided to abolish the national insurance contributions exemption for holiday pay schemes outside the construction industry from 30 October 2007;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the likely annual saving in National Insurance contributions for an employee with 20 days' annual leave earning  (a) £10,000,  (b) £15,000,  (c) £20,000 and  (d) £25,000 per annum who is a member of a holiday pay scheme and does not pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions on his holiday pay;
	(3)  how many employees are members of holiday pay schemes, broken down by employment sector;
	(4)  what proportion of the savings identified in the 2007 pre-Budget report/comprehensive spending review, Table B4, from the removal of the National Insurance contributions exemption for holiday pay schemes are attributable to  (a) employee and  (b) employer contributions;
	(5)  how many employees earning  (a) less than £10,000,  (b) £10,000 to £15,000,  (c) £15,000 to £20,000,  (d) £20,000 to £25,000 and  (e) more than £25,000 per annum are members of holiday pay schemes and not paying National Insurance contributions on their holiday pay;
	(6)  if he will place in the Library projections of the estimated change in Government revenue which will arise from the abolition of the National Insurance contributions exemption for holiday pay schemes in each year to 2015;
	(7)  what organisations his Department consulted prior to the announcement in the 2007 pre-Budget report/comprehensive spending review of the removal of the National Insurance contributions exemption for holiday pay schemes;
	(8)  what consideration he gave to abolishing the national insurance contributions exemption for holiday pay schemes on a phased basis; and what the reasons were for deciding not to proceed on that basis;
	(9)  what estimate he has made of the cost to employers outside the construction sector of ending holiday pay schemes by 30 October 2007.

Jane Kennedy: The NICs exemption was designed for the construction industry and dates back to the 1960s. This pre-dated the right to four weeks paid leave per year provided by the Working Time Regulation in 1998. The rationale for changes to the NICs exemption is set out in chapter five of the 2007 pre-Budget report and comprehensive spending review, PBR note 02 and impact assessment which can be found at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/B/9/pbr_csr07_chapters_244.pdf
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/5/3/pbr_csr07_notes520.pdf
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2007/ia-nics.pdf
	The following table shows estimated annual savings in 2008-09 in employee NICs for an employee with 20 days annual leave earning at various annual rates, who is a member of a holiday pay scheme.
	
		
			  Annual pay  Annual saving employee NICs (£) 
			 £10,000 40 
			 £15,000 80 
			 £20,000 125 
			 £25,000 165 
		
	
	HMRC does not hold information on the number of employees within holiday pay schemes broken down by employment sector.
	The following table shows how the savings identified in 2007 pre-Budget report Table 4, from the removal of the NICs exemption for holiday pay, are attributable to employee and employer contributions.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Employer' NICs 50 110 110 110 
			 Employee' NICs 50 90 90 90 
			 Total 100 200 200 200 
		
	
	HMRC does not hold information on the income of employees within holiday pay schemes.
	Definitive projections to 2015 are not available. An estimate of the revenue from the measure beyond that outlined in the pre-Budget Report is stated in the Impact Assessment.
	HMRC held a number of meetings with representatives of the construction sector holiday pay funds and their professional advisers.

Northern Rock

Peter Viggers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements are in place for Northern Rock to pay interest on monies advanced to it by the Bank of England; what interest rate applies; and when it will be payable.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 26 November 2007
	I refer the right hon. Gentlemen to the letters the Chancellor sent to the chairs of the Public Accounts Committee and the Treasury Select Committee on 11 October 2007, which are available in the House Library.

Northern Rock: Pensions

Doug Henderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make representations to the pensions regulator to ensure that existing and future liabilities of the pension schemes of those employed by Northern Rock are fully funded.

Kitty Ussher: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Waterson) on 30 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1187W.

Personation

Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to reduce the vulnerability of tax correspondence to identify theft.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC initiated immediate increases in security with a new process:
	transfers will now only take place if they are absolutely necessary;
	written authorisation for the transfer has to be given by senior HMRC manager; and
	a clear instruction has been given regarding the appropriate standard of protection for the transfer.
	Where directors decide that a data transfer by disc is unavoidable such media must, in every case, be securely encrypted at the appropriate level.
	On 20 November the Chancellor announced an independent review of HMRC's data handling procedures to be conducted by Kieran Poynter, the chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Public Expenditure: Wales

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2007,  Official Report, column 57W, on public expenditure: Wales, what elements of spending in relation to subscriptions to international organisations are devolved; what transport programmes Cycling England spending is now subsumed within; and what the comparability factor of that programme is for Wales.

Andy Burnham: UK Departments pay subscriptions to international organisations on behalf of the United Kingdom as a whole. In some circumstances, the devolved Administrations may make a contribution towards a UK Department's expenditure on international subscriptions. Information relating to individual contributions could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Expenditure previous recorded under the Cycling England programme is now carried within the Local Transport group of programmes. Annex C of the October 2007 edition of "Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly: Statement of Funding Policy" shows this area of spending to be comparable in Wales. The SFP gives details of all comparability factors.

Revenue and Customs: Data Protection

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what training procedures are in place for staff at HM Revenue and Customs on security of information.

Jane Kennedy: It would be inappropriate to comment on this issue as there is an ongoing Metropolitan Police Service investigation and an independent review of HMRC's security processes and procedures for data handling led by Kieran Poynter, the Chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
	On 20 November the Chancellor announced an independent review of HMRC's data handling procedures to be conducted by Kieran Poynter, the Chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
	The full terms of reference for that review are available on the HM Treasury website at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom_and_speeches/press/2007_133_07.cfm and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Revenue and Customs: Stroud

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent staff there are at the Stroud tax office; and how many there were in each year since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: The number of full-time equivalent staff employed by HM Revenue and Customs (the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise before April 2005) in Stroud was:
	
		
			   Number 
			 1 October 2007 71 
			 1 April 2007 83 
			 1 April 2006 44 
			 1 April 2005 49 
			 1 April 2004 51 
			 1 April 2003 51 
			 1 April 2002 51 
			 1 April 2001 47 
			 1 April 2000 52 
			 1 April 1999 51 
			 1 April 1998 50 
			 1 April 1997 51

Smuggling: Convictions

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of HM Revenue and Customs investigations into the smuggling of  (a) drugs,  (b) people,  (c) tobacco,  (d) alcohol and  (e) firearms resulted in a conviction in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 28 November 2007
	 High level data on investigations and convictions are published in HM Revenue and Customs Annual Reports. Copies of the Annual Reports are available in the Library of the House. HM Revenue and Customs is not responsible for the investigation and prosecution of people smuggling offences.

Wealth: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of millionaires resident in the Peterborough city council area.

Jane Kennedy: Estimates are not available at local level.

Welfare Tax Credits

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit  (a) maladministration payments and  (b) consolatory payments were made in each of the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: The circumstances in which HM Revenue and Customs will make compensation payments to its customers are explained in the Department's fact sheet, 'Complaints and Putting Things Right', which is available at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk
	For the number of compensation payments made each month from October 2006 to May 2007, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 5 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 1186-87W. Information for the period June 2007 to October 2007 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  2007  Number of compensatory payments 
			 June 1,190 
			 July 674 
			 August 215 
			 September 463 
			 October 1,197 
		
	
	The lower number of compensatory payments made over the summer reflects the fact that HMRC have been actively sifting cases to identify those affected by the administrative problem that I referred to in my written statement of 25 July. HMRC have since cleared the backlog.

Welfare Tax Credits: Correspondence

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many letters on tax credits from hon. and right hon. Members to  (a) Ministers and  (b) the Tax Credit Office were not sent a substantive reply within (i) one month, (ii) two months, (iii) three months and (iv) six months in the period 2005 to 2007.

Jane Kennedy: (a) The information is not collated in the format requested and is available only at disproportionate cost.
	 (b) Between 1 January 2005 and 30 September 2007 Tax Credit Office received around 26,500 letters from hon. and right hon. Members. The information is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Time taken to reply  Number of letters  Percentage of letters answered 
			 Less than 30 days 20,600 78 
			 30 to 59 days 3,300 12 
			 60 to 89 days 900 3 
			 90 to 119 days 300 1 
			 180+ days 70 less than 1

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many letters were written by HM Revenue and Customs requesting the recovery of overpaid tax credits in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The number of requests to pay back overpaid tax credits (forms TC610) issued by HM Revenue and Customs in the last 12 months was:
	
		
			  Month  Forms TC610 Issued (Thousand) 
			  2006  
			 November 281 
			 December 26 
			   
			  2007  
			 January 45 
			 February 72 
			 March 54 
			 April 42 
			 May 77 
			 June 71 
			 July 91 
			 August 272 
			 September 684 
			 October 151 
		
	
	Notices to pay are issued where there is no continuing tax credits entitlement and can be generated by a number of things, including changes to family circumstances or a failure to renew applications for tax credits.
	The numbers in the table reflect the number of forms issued and not the number of households they were issued to. In joint claimant cases, each claimant is sent a notice to pay so one household might receive two notices.